China Bars Manus Executives from Leaving in Meta Deal Review

Chinese authorities have barred the CEO and chief scientist of AI startup Manus from leaving the country as regulators scrutinize Meta's $2 billion acquisition of the firm, marking a rare use of travel restrictions against executives in a major U.S.-China tech deal.

Xiao Hong, Manus's chief executive, and Ji Yichao, its chief scientist, were summoned to Beijing this month for meetings with the National Development and Reform Commission. The executives, who are based in Singapore, were questioned about potential violations of foreign direct investment rules tied to the company's onshore Chinese entities. Following the discussions, they were informed they could not exit China pending a regulatory review, though they remain free to travel domestically. No formal investigation or charges have been filed, and the company is seeking legal and consulting assistance to address the matter.

Manus, founded in 2022 as Beijing Butterfly Effect Technology, specializes in autonomous AI agents designed to handle complex tasks such as writing code, analyzing data, booking travel, and creating content without ongoing human input. The startup gained prominence last year with a viral demonstration...