Chinese regulators have ordered the parties behind Meta's $2 billion acquisition of Manus to revoke the transaction, The Wall Street Journal reported on April 28.

Meta Platforms is now preparing for a possible unwinding of the deal, which brought the AI agent application maker under its control. The process could prove complicated, as integration work between the two companies has already begun.

Manus builds AI agent software — autonomous systems capable of executing multi-step tasks on behalf of users. The startup attracted attention earlier this year after viral demos showed its agents completing complex workflows across web applications.

The Chinese government's intervention marks a rare instance of Beijing blocking an outbound AI acquisition by a US tech giant. The order appears rooted in concerns over advanced AI technology transferring outside China's borders, though regulators have not publicly detailed their reasoning.

Meta acquired Manus as part of a broader push to embed agentic AI capabilities across its family of apps, which serve more than three billion users. The company has invested heavily in AI infrastructure and talent over the past two years, spending tens of billions on GPU clusters and recruiting researchers from rival labs.

Unwinding a completed acquisition of this size is unusual in the technology sector. Typical regulatory blocks occur before deals close. In this case, integration has progressed — raising questions about how cleanly the two entities can be separated, and what happens to shared code, data, and personnel.

The situation also tests the broader environment for cross-border AI deals. US and Chinese companies have faced increasing friction over chip exports, model weights, and talent movement. A forced reversal of a completed transaction sets a new precedent.

Meta has not publicly commented on its contingency planning. The company's AI division, led by Yann LeCun and Chris Cox on the product side, had positioned Manus's agent technology as a key component of its 2026 product roadmap.

The outcome will likely depend on negotiations between Meta, Manus's original shareholders, and Chinese authorities. Any resolution could take months to finalize, according to the Journal's reporting.

Meta's next quarterly earnings call, expected in late April, may provide the first official remarks from the company on the deal's status.