Facebook parent Meta to unwind US$2 billion Manus AI deal after Beijing block

Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, is preparing to fully unwind its acquisition of the Chinese-founded artificial intelligence platform Manus. The deal, valued at $2 billion, was blocked by Beijing over national security concerns more than three months ago. This move marks another significant instance of decoupling between the United States and China in the crucial area of artificial intelligence. Manus informed its users via a note that data generated by certain users on or after December 29, the date of Meta's acquisition, will be deleted. This action is part of the company's transition back to operating independently. Affected users have been instructed to back up their data before August 23. Users not impacted by the data deletion can continue using the service without interruption. The note stated that the data deletion is necessary to comply with regulatory requirements in specific global regions, though these requirements were not explicitly detailed. Manus, launched in March 2025, functions as an AI agent platform capable of autonomously performing tasks for users, such as browsing the internet and generating reports. The startup behind the platform, Butterfly Effect, was founded in 2022 with offices in Beijing and Wuhan. Last summer, the company rebranded as Manus, a Singapore-based entity, which involved laying off China-based staff and removing its Chinese online presence.

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to comply with regulatory requirements in specific parts of the world