China Blocks Meta's Reported $2 Billion Deal for Agentic AI Startup Manus on National Security Grounds

China's National Development and Reform Commission has ordered Meta to unwind its acquisition of agentic AI startup Manus, citing national security concerns. The decision concludes a four-month review conducted by the Office of the Working Mechanism for Foreign Investment Security Review. The deal, announced in December 2025 and reported by The Wall Street Journal to be valued at more than $2 billion, would have brought Manus under Meta's ownership. Manus was founded by CEO Xiao Hong and Chief Scientist Ji Yichao. The company is incorporated in Singapore but developed primarily in China. Both founders were barred from leaving China in March after being summoned to Beijing for questioning related to foreign direct investment rules. The startup raised $75 million from Benchmark in April 2025 and built a leading agentic AI platform capable of autonomously executing multi-step tasks across web browsers, code editors and file systems. The case surfaces a broader issue for cross-border transactions involving advanced AI: when the asset being transferred is a team and operational know-how, does that constitute a technology export? The block comes weeks ahead of President Donald Trump's planned May trip to Beijing and signals that using Singapore incorporation to sidestep Chinese oversight is no longer viable.