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Two of the founders who built one of AI’s fastest-growing companies were barred from leaving China while regulators investigated the sale of their startup to one of the world’s most powerful technology companies. That detail — buried in the machinery of a regulatory review — tells you more about where this story is headed than any valuation figure.
China has blocked Meta Platforms’ planned acquisition of Manus AI, a deal valued at more than $2 billion, and ordered it unwound. Now, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, Manus co-founders Xiao Hong, Ji Yichao, and Zhang Tao are exploring a funding round of up to $1 billion to regain control of the company they built. The founders may also contribute their own capital to close any remaining gap, with the buyback expected to be struck at a valuation at least matching what Meta originally paid.
Manus was founded in China before relocating its headquarters and core operations to Singapore in 2025 — a move that, as TFN reported at the time, immediately drew scrutiny from Chinese regulators over whether it constituted an attempt to move strategically sensitive technology beyond Beijing’s reach. When Manus first launched in March 2025, it was heralded as the world’s first general-purpose AI agent — a claim that drew millions onto its waiting list within days. It had already been dubbed China’s answer to DeepSeek — a label that made Beijing’s decision to block the Meta deal feel even more deliberate.
