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Manus Financial Performance
Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) growth trajectory for Manus startup.
Primary Sources
A Singapore AI startup became Meta's $2 billion target, but China says ...
China has blocked Meta’s takeover of Manus, an artificial intelligence startup with Chinese roots and a Singapore base. The directive came from the Office of the Working Mechanism for Security Review of Foreign Investment under China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), which said the ban was made “in accordance with laws and regulations” and requires the deal’s revocation. For Meta and for every investor chasing the next breakout AI company, the message is hard to miss. In today’s AI race, where code can be dual-use and talent is treated like strategic inventory, corporate dealmaking is starting to look more like national security policy. If a deal can be unwound after it is signed or even after teams have moved, what does that do to the usual Silicon Valley playbook? A rare reversal from China’s top planner In a brief notice dated April 27, 2026, the NDRC’s foreign investment security review office said it would prohibit foreign investment in the Manus project and required the parties involved to revoke the acquisition transaction. The statement did not name Meta, but Reuters and other outlets reported the order targets Meta’s roughly $2 billion purchase of Manus. China’s Commerce Ministry had already signaled trouble earlier this year. In public remarks, the ministry said cross-border operations and technology cooperation must comply with Chinese laws and complete required procedures, a pointed reminder as scrutiny of the Manus deal ramped up. The hard part now is practical, not rhetorical. Reuters reported that Meta is preparing to undo the acquisition after the ban, and that Chinese regulators want restoration of Chinese assets plus removal of any transferred data or technology. Those demands can get messy fast when an AI team has already begun plugging its tools into a larger company’s systems. Why Manus was so attractive Manus is part of the fast-growing category of “AI agents,” systems designed to complete multi-step tasks with limited human prompting. Instead of only chatting, an agent can do work like market research, basic coding, or pulling insights from a pile of spreadsheets. The company’s growth claims also help explain the price tag. In a December 2025 update on its own site, Manus said it crossed $100 million in annual recurring revenue about eight months after launch and reported a revenue run rate above $125 million. Manus described that milestone as the fastest trip from $0 to $100 million in ARR, a claim tha...
AITech billionaire Chen Tianqiao's MiroMind halts China services after ...
Chinese technology billionaire Chen Tianqiao’s artificial intelligence start-up MiroMind is suspending its services in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, in the latest sign that some of the country’s most globally ambitious firms are increasingly retreating from the domestic market as geopolitical tensions reshape the industry following the Manus saga.In an email sent to select users on Wednesday, the company said that its MiroThinker services would stop operating in regions including mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau from May 12 because of “business adjustments”, with no timeline for resumption, according to a Beijing-based user who received the email.The company is offering refunds and data export options for affected users, it said in the email.A customer service representative at MiroMind confirmed the service suspension on Thursday in response to an inquiry from the South China Morning Post.The move comes shortly after a recent interview with Bloomberg in which Chen publicly described erecting strict internal “firewalls” between the company’s regional operations in response to heightened scrutiny from Beijing following Meta’s acquisition of Manus.A protocol to limit cross-border sharing of information or code was implemented after Beijing contacted Chen’s team in early March, cautioning against a unilateral technology transfer out of the country, he said in the interview.
China Just Ordered Meta to Undo a $2 Billion AI Deal.
China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) ordered Meta to unwind its $2 billion acquisition of AI startup Manus, a deal that was already completed, with staff already integrated into Meta's Singapore offices.
Xi Tests China's Reach by Blocking Already-done Meta Deal
The real impact of the NDRC decision may not be on Manus, but on other tech entrepreneurs in China. Many Chinese tech firms have either shifted their bases to Singapore or considered such a move as they seek to expand internationally, raise capital, recruit global staff and loosen the oversight of Communist Party regulators.
