Ed Ludlow, BTech Co-Anchor, discusses Microsoft’s move to drop its exclusive right to sell OpenAI’s AI models. He also breaks down why China has blocked Meta’s $2 billion acquisition of AI firm Manus.
China has decided to block Meta Platforms Inc.’s $2 billion acquisition of agentic AI startup Manus, a surprise move to unwind a controversial deal that’s drawn fire for the leakage of technology to the US.
The National Development and Reform Commission ordered the deal’s cancellation in a brief statement Monday. The powerful state planner said in a one-line notice that it’s decided to prohibit foreign investment in the startup in accordance with laws and regulations, without elaborating.
The ruling is likely to send a chill through China’s burgeoning AI sector, and emerged weeks before a high-profile summit between US President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping. Beijing has tightened scrutiny of key industry firms in the wake of the deal, which has largely been completed. The sale was initially hailed as a template for startups with global aspirations, but domestic critics have since lamented the loss of valuable technology to a geopolitical rival.
Manus’s founders got their start in China but relocated their headquarters and key staff to Singapore in 2025. It wasn’t clear when the deal was announced in December whether Beijing would exert its authority on a transaction that technically took place beyond its borders.
“The Manus block is a clarifying moment,” said Ke Yan, a tech analyst with DZT Research based in Singapore. “Manus was Singapore-incorporated with founders based here, and it still got pulled back. Beijing’s signal is that what matters isn’t where the legal entity sits.”
The decree on Manus may deal a setback to Meta as it looks to compete in AI against rivals from Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google to OpenAI and Anthropic PBC. Manus was supposed to help Meta leapfrog into a leading position in the hot sphere of AI agents, or services that use artificial intelligence to execute tasks.
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