China’s top state planner has directed Meta to reverse its acquisition of artificial intelligence (AI) start-up Manus, a transaction valued at more than $2bn, according to media reports.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said the order was made under Chinese laws and regulations and instructed the parties involved to withdraw from the deal.
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The move points to a notable intervention by Beijing in a transaction that had been formally completed outside mainland China.
The reported action centres on foreign investment in advanced technologies.
Manus, operated by Butterfly Effect in Singapore, develops general-purpose AI agents used for tasks including market research, coding and data analysis.
The business was founded in China by executive Xiao Hong and his co-founders, who established Beijing Butterfly Effect Technology in 2022.
Following a funding round led by US venture capital firm Benchmark, operations were moved to Singapore in mid-2025.
Since the end of US President Donald Trump’s first term, there has been an uptick in ‘Singapore Washing’—a trend where Chinese companies move their base operations to Singapore, a more politically neutral country, to avoid getting caught in the crosshairs of US-China tensions. However, it has started to decline as both countries more closely scrutinise foreign investments and acquisitions.
When announcing the acquisition late last year, Meta said the purchase would help accelerate AI development for business users and expand automation capabilities across its consumer and enterprise products, including the Meta AI assistant.
However, CNBC reported in January that China’s Commerce Ministry had begun reviewing the transaction to determine whether it complied with legal and regulatory requirements tied to export controls, technology transfers across borders and overseas investment.
In March, a Meta spokesperson told CNBC that the deal “complied fully with applicable law,” adding that the company expected “an appropriate resolution to the inquiry.”
The transaction has also faced scrutiny in the US. In Washington, lawmakers have sought to prevent American investors from backing Chinese AI companies.
Meta’s earlier involvement in a funding round had likewise drawn attention from the US Treasury Department under restrictions governing such investments.
