According to the Financial Times, Manus chief executive Xiao Hong was told he could not leave China while regulators review the acquisition. The Financial Times also reported that Manus chief scientist Ji Yichao was similarly barred from leaving the country. These travel restrictions have emerged amid an ongoing regulatory examination of the high-profile transaction that was announced in December.
Meta announced that it would buy Manus in December in an effort to boost its artificial intelligence offerings. ' According to its creators, Manus’s AI agent is able to perform complex tasks like booking holidays or creating podcasts without any human guidance. Following its initial release last March, Manus gained a waitlist of more than 2 million users after it outperformed several AI agents from leading US companies.
Manus relocated its headquarters to Singapore last July, prior to the acquisition announcement. Shortly after the acquisition was announced, China’s commerce ministry said it would investigate whether the deal complied with local laws and regulations. The specific legal grounds or regulations China is using to block the executives from leaving have not been disclosed, and the current status and timeline of the commerce ministry investigation remain unclear.
Meta said in a statement that the acquisition complied fully with applicable law. The company also anticipated an appropriate resolution to the inquiry. Meta said it would continue operating the standalone Manus service, while also integrating its capabilities across its other products.
Xiao Hong stated in an official statement that joining Meta was the logical next step in their journey to scale world-class AI products. He added that by partnering with Meta's existing teams, they could integrate Manus's technology across a global AI portfolio, bringing their autonomous agent capabilities to millions of businesses and creators. It is unknown whether other Manus executives or employees are affected by travel restrictions, and how these bans might impact Meta's integration plans for Manus's technology.
The acquisition is one of several high-profile takeovers of AI startups that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has overseen in recent months in order to compete with Google, Microsoft and OpenAI in the space. The potential consequences or penalties if the acquisition is found non-compliant with Chinese law have not been specified by authorities. This regulatory scrutiny highlights the complexities global tech firms face when acquiring innovative companies with ties to China, as geopolitical tensions influence cross-border technology transactions.