China restricts Manus cofounders from leaving country as it reviews Meta deal – report

MANILA, Philippines – China has restricted two cofounders of artificial intelligence startup Manus from leaving the country. Meta acquired Manus in December 2025 reportedly for between $2 billion to $3 billion, according to sources at the time.

Citing people with knowledge of the matter, the Financial Times reported that its chief executive, Xiao Hong, as well as its chief scientist, Ji Yichao, were summoned to meet the National Development and Reform Commission in Beijing this month.

The report said that following the meeting, the two were prohibited from leaving China but were allowed to go to other parts of the country.

“The transaction complied fully with applicable law. We anticipate an ‌appropriate ⁠resolution to the inquiry,” a Meta spokesperson told Reuters in its report.

Reuters, in an earlier January report, said China was looking to investigate Meta’s Manus acquisition.

Manus’ claim to fame is its development of general-purpose AI agents, which can act as digital employees and do research and automate tasks with little prompting. – Rappler.com