According to two persons familiar with the situation, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday that Chinese authorities are examining Meta’s $2 billion purchase of artificial intelligence firm Manus for potential breaches of technology control.
China Reviews Meta’s $2 Billion AI Acquisition
Reuters was unable to confirm the information right away. Requests for feedback received no quick response from Meta or Manus. According to the article, Chinese commerce ministry authorities started evaluating whether an export license was necessary under Chinese law for the move of Manus’ employees and technology to Singapore and the subsequent sale to Meta.
Export Control and Licensing Concerns
The article also said that while the study is in its early stages and could not result in a formal probe, the need for a license might provide Beijing a way to influence the sale, perhaps going so far as to attempt to persuade the parties to back out of the agreement.
Potential Regulatory Leverage by Beijing
A person with knowledge of the situation told Reuters that Meta purchased Manus last month, valuing the Singapore-based company between $2 billion and $3 billion.
Deal Valuation and Timeline
Early this year, Manus became popular on X after releasing what it said was the first general AI agent in the world, able to make choices and carry out activities on its own with much less assistance than AI chatbots like ChatGPT and DeepSeek.
