AI Unicorn Manus Founder Restricted from Leaving China! Beijing Reviews Meta Acquisition, $2 Billion Deal in Jeopardy?

AI Technology War Heats Up! According to the Financial Times, Chinese regulators have imposed an “exit ban” on two co-founders of the AI startup Manus. This move occurred during the review of Meta’s (formerly Facebook) plan to acquire the company for about $2 billion, indicating that Beijing is closely monitoring the risk of key AI technology outflow. Meta responded that the transaction is fully compliant and expects to reach an appropriate resolution.
(Background: Manus AI officially takes over IG: Fully automated management from inspiration, generation to publication)
(Additional context: Meta announces acquisition of AI unicorn Manus, unlocking productivity potential for FB, IG, and Threads)

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• Executives Summoned: Exit Restrictions but Allowed Domestic Activities
• Manus’s Core Value: Autonomous “Digital Employees”
• AI Transactions Under Geopolitical Shadows

As AI technology becomes central to great power competition, corporate mergers and acquisitions are no longer just commercial acts. According to today’s (25th) report by the Financial Times (FT), the Chinese government has restricted two key figures of the AI startup Manus from leaving the country, mainly because regulators are reviewing Meta’s roughly $2 billion acquisition of the company to determine if it violates relevant investment and technology export regulations.

Executives Summoned: Exit Restrictions but Allowed Domestic Activities

Sources say that Manus CEO Xiao Hong and Chief Scientist Ji Yichao were summoned to Beijing this month for a meeting with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). After the meeting, the two executives were told they could not leave China during the regulatory review but are still free to travel within China.

This “border control” measure is generally seen as a strong tool used by the Chinese government in major national security or critical technology transactions to ensure involved personnel cooperate with investigations. Currently, Manus is actively seeking legal and consulting assistance to resolve this regulatory storm.

Manus’s Core Value: Autonomous “Digital Employees”

Why does Beijing place such importance on this startup? Manus focuses on developing General AI Agents. This technology is viewed as the next stage of AI development:

• Autonomous Operation: These AI agents can act like “digital employees,” executing complex research and automation tasks with minimal instructions.
• Cross-Disciplinary Applications: From coding and data analysis to office automation, they hold high strategic value in business and technology.

Meta announced this acquisition plan at the end of December last year, with market estimates valuing the deal between $2 billion and $3 billion. For Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, this acquisition is a key piece in building out the Agentic AI ecosystem.

AI Transactions Under Geopolitical Shadows

A Meta spokesperson told Reuters via email, “The transaction fully complies with applicable laws. We expect this inquiry to be resolved appropriately.” However, market analysts believe that, against the backdrop of increasingly strict AI export controls by the US and China, such cross-border mergers face significant uncertainties.

“This is not just antitrust review; it’s about defending technological sovereignty. China clearly does not want its top AI talent and technology to transfer directly to US tech giants without strict screening.”