The Least Surprising Chapter Of The Manus Story Is What’s Happening Right Now

Manus AI founders are barred from leaving China after selling to Meta for $2B. Here's what this means for the global AI race.
Matilda
The Least Surprising Chapter Of The Manus Story Is What’s Happening Right Now
Manus AI Founders Barred From Leaving China — And Nobody Should Be Surprised When Manus AI quietly sold itself to Meta for $2 billion, it looked like a clean escape. A Chinese startup, relocated to Singapore, acquired by America's most powerful social media company. Deal done. Founders rich. Story over. Except Beijing does not work that way — and if you have been paying attention to how China handles dissent inside its tech sector, the ending to this story was never going to be that simple. This week, reports confirmed that Manus co-founders Xiao Hong and Ji Yichao were summoned by China's National Development and Reform Commission and told, in no uncertain terms, that they would not be leaving the country any time soon. How Manus Became One of China's Most Watched AI Startups Manus burst onto the global AI scene in spring 2025 with a demo video that turned heads overnight. The footage showed an AI agent screening job applicants, planning detailed vacations, and analyzing inve…