China Blocks Manus Co-Founders From Leaving Over Meta Deal
Beijing grounds Manus founders as it investigates whether Meta's $2B acquisition violates foreign investment rules.
China has barred Manus co-founders Xiao Hong and Ji Yichao from leaving the country. The travel ban lands as Beijing scrutinizes whether Meta's $2 billion acquisition of the AI startup runs afoul of foreign direct investment regulations.
The core concern: strategic technology flowing overseas. Chinese officials are digging into whether the deal effectively hands critical AI capabilities to a U.S. tech giant — exactly the kind of transfer Beijing has been tightening controls around.
The move escalates what was already intense deal scrutiny into something far more dramatic. Restricting the physical movement of founders signals China is dead serious about asserting control over its AI ecosystem.
Meta's $2B bet on Manus now faces a regulatory gauntlet that could stall or kill the acquisition entirely. Neither the founders nor Meta appear to have much leverage while Beijing holds the cards.