China bars Manus co-founders from leaving country as it reviews Meta’s $2 billion acquisition: Report

China has restricted two co-founders of artificial intelligence startup Manus from leaving the country while regulators examine whether Meta’s $2 billion acquisition of the firm violated investment rules, the Financial Times reported.

Manus’ chief executive Xiao Hong and chief scientist Ji Yichao have been summoned to a meeting with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in Beijing this month, the FT reported on Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Following the meeting, executives were told that while they remained free to travel within the country, they were not allowed to leave China due to regulatory scrutiny, the report said.

The newspaper said Manus was actively seeking law firms and consultancy to help resolve the issue.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. Meta and Manus did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

China’s Ministry of Public Security did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

In December, Meta said it would acquire Manus, which makes general-purpose AI agents that can operate as digital workers, carrying out tasks such as research and automation independently and with minimal prompting.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but a source told Reuters at the time that the deal valued the Singapore-based firm at between $2 billion and $3 billion.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced at the beginning of this year that it would evaluate and investigate Meta’s acquisition of Manus.