(Yicai) Jan. 9 -- China’s Ministry of Commerce, together with other relevant departments, will carry out an investigation into whether US tech giant Meta’s purchase of Manus, a Singapore-based artificial intelligence startup founded by Chinese entrepreneurs, complies with Chinese laws and regulations on export controls, technology trade and foreign investment, it said at a regular press briefing yesterday.

The Chinese government has consistently supported companies engaging in mutually beneficial cross-border operations and international technology cooperation in accordance with the law, said ministry spokesperson He Yadong. However, activities such as outbound investment, technology exports, cross-border data transfers as well as overseas mergers and acquisitions must comply with Chinese laws and regulations and follow the required legal procedures.

Manus is joining Meta, the two companies said on Dec. 30, 2025. Manus will sell its general-purpose AI agent to businesses on a subscription basis, marking Meta’s first significant entry into enterprise-level AI. Manus founder and Chief Executive Officer Xiao Hong will take up the role of vice president at Menlo Park-based Meta.

Meta’s acquisition of Manus is valued at several billion US dollars, according to multiple media reports. Following the purchase, Meta reportedly required Manus to completely sever ties with China, including in terms of capital, operations and data. After the news broke on Dec. 30 last year, Meta Platforms’ US-listed shares climbed 1.1 percent, but then slumped 1.8 percent on Jan. 7 after the Financial Times reported that Chinese regulators would review the transaction.

Unlike antitrust reviews or national security reviews of foreign investment, technology export controls do not hinge solely on whether a transaction involves an equity acquisition or a China-based company, Deng Zhishong, a senior partner at Beijing Dacheng Law Offices, wrote recently. The key issue is whether technologies developed within China, which are subject to export controls, are provided to foreign entities in any form without the necessary permissions.

The Manus general AI agent, which was developed jointly by teams in Beijing and Wuhan, was released globally on March 6, 2025, and quickly became a hot topic of discussion on social media.

Manus completed four funding rounds between 2023 and 2025, according to public information. ZhenFund invested twice in early and late 2023, giving the firm valuations of USD14 million and USD50 million, respectively. In November 2024, HongShan, Tencent Holdings, ZhenFund and Meituan founder Wang Huiwen invested in the company, resulting in a valuation of USD85 million. In April 2025, Silicon Valley venture capital firm Benchmark led a USD75 million round, with HongShan, Tencent and ZhenFund participating, and this brought Manus’ valuation to USD500 million.

After securing investment from Benchmark, Manus said in June last year that it would shift its headquarters to Singapore and change its operating entity to Butterfly Effect Pte. The company laid off most of its China-based staff, retaining only around 40 core technical personnel who were relocated to Singapore. For Manus, the move made good business sense, as its AI agents mainly rely on Anthropic’s Claude model, which is not available in China and this greatly restricts access for Chinese users.

At present, in the field of AI, algorithms, model architectures, training methods and related engineering solutions have all become key areas of focus under China’s technology export management. The updated Catalogue of Technologies Prohibited or Restricted from Export, which was revised in July 2025, contains several restricted technologies or control points that are closely related to AI companies.

Editor: Kim Taylor