What's at stake for Meta if China cancels Manus deal
Meta needs to seize this chance as AI sector is swiftly turning its attention toward AI agents
The Chinese authorities have compelled Meta to withdraw from acquiring Manus, a startup specialising in AI-driven autonomous agents.
Meta had revealed its plans to acquire Manus in December as part of a strategy to integrate general-purpose AI agents across its offerings.
China's National Development and Reform Commission announced on Monday that it has blocked Meta's investment in Manus.
This commission, responsible for economic policymaking, directed the companies to end the acquisition but did not offer further explanations.
"The transaction was conducted in full compliance with the relevant laws. We expect a favorable outcome to this investigation," stated a Meta representative to Business Insider.
Manus, initially established in China, moved to Singapore in mid-2025. The company gained widespread attention last year after it showcased an AI agent capable of independently handling tasks like stock market analysis.
In December, a Meta representative told Business Insider that following the acquisition, Manus would have no connections to China.
There is a great deal for Meta to gain if the Manus agreement is voided.
Even though Meta's latest AI model, Muse Spark, was successful upon release, the company has a significant opportunity to integrate AI into its leading platforms, such as Instagram and WhatsApp.
Meta needs to seize this chance as the AI sector is swiftly turning its attention toward AI agents, which are growing more proficient as their core models improve.
Manus grabbed considerable attention last year when it demonstrated an AI agent that successfully performed tasks like vacation planning and candidate screening.
Even better for Meta, Manus operates on models from other entities, like Anthropic’s Claude.
This means that through Manus, Meta gains a ready-to-use agent platform, without the pressure of creating the primary model — plus the flexibility to incorporate other advanced models in the future if desired.
This is potentially substantial for Meta, not only in terms of products developed for clients but also in reshaping its operations to be "AI-centric" by employing smaller teams relying more heavily on AI agents for coding and other tasks.
Manus could additionally enhance Meta’s revenue with its well-established, popular product.
Manus declared in December that it surpassed $100 million in annual repetitive revenue, with users numbering in the "millions."
"The acquisition provides Meta with a functioning business, established customers, substantial revenue, and scalable infrastructure," commented Murthy Grandhi, analyst at GlobalData, in a note from December.