Tencent is in talks to buy a majority stake in AI agent startup Manus at the same $2 billion valuation, according to the Financial Times, after Beijing blocked Meta's acquisition. Tencent sees overlap with its own agent plans, including for WeChat. U.S. firm Benchmark is not expected to take part.

July 9 : Tencent is in talks to become Manus' largest shareholder as investors seek alternatives after Beijing ordered Meta to unwind its $2 billion acquisition of the AI…

Tencent is leading a buyback of Manus after Chinese regulators forced Meta to unwind its $2B acquisition of the AI agent startup in June 2026.

Tencent is negotiating to become Manus' largest shareholder, planning to buy the AI startup back from Meta for $2 billion.