China blocks Meta's $2 billion acquisition of AI startup Manus

china's state planner told meta on monday to unwind its $2 billion acquisition of manus, a singaporean ai startup with chinese roots. the national development and reform commission said the decision to block the deal followed laws and regulations, and asked both parties to withdraw the transaction. meta shares were 0.2% lower in premarket trading. manus was founded in china before moving to singapore. it hit $100 million in annual recurring revenue by december, eight months after launching its first product — claiming the fastest run from $0 to that milestone. the startup raised $75 million last april in a round led by u.s. vc benchmark. when meta announced the deal late last year, it said it would use manus to accelerate ai innovation for businesses. the deal had drawn scrutiny from both beijing and washington. in january, china's commerce ministry began an assessment of how the acquisition complied with export control and tech transfer laws. a meta spokesperson told cnbc in march the deal "complied fully with applicable law." the chinese government's intervention alarmed tech founders in china who had been using the "singapore-washing" model to avoid scrutiny from both capitals.