Manus said Tuesday it will return to operating independently as Meta (NASDAQ: META) unwinds its $2 billion acquisition of the artificial intelligence startup following an order from Chinese regulators.

The separation will also affect some Manus users. In certain jurisdictions, data created on or after December 29, 2025, will be removed as part of the process, according to the company. Affected users have until 7:59 p.m. EDT on August 22 to back up their information. Manus plans to delete the affected data between August 23 and August 24, with restoration of backed-up information available beginning August 25. The company said affected users will not be charged during the backup period.

Manus said the data measures are required as it separates its operations from Meta and complies with regulatory requirements in certain markets.

The companies have been working to dismantle the transaction since China's National Development and Reform Commission directed them in April to withdraw the deal. Meta has also restricted Manus employees from accessing its internal data systems and prohibited its own employees from using Manus tools as part of the operational separation.

Meta announced the $2 billion Manus transaction in December 2025 as part of its broader expansion into artificial intelligence. Manus develops general-purpose AI agents and was founded in China in 2022 before relocating to Singapore.

The transaction later drew regulatory attention in both China and the United States. Chinese authorities examined whether the acquisition complied with the country's foreign investment rules before the NDRC ordered the deal withdrawn. The regulatory action also indicated that incorporating a company outside China did not necessarily remove a transaction from Chinese oversight when technology and personnel originated in the country. Manus co-founders Xiao Hong and Ji Yichao were required to appear before Chinese officials in Beijing in March and have since been prohibited from traveling abroad.

Meta had intended to incorporate Manus technology into consumer and enterprise products. The acquisition was one part of the company's efforts to expand its AI business, including plans to develop subscription-based offerings while competing with Google, Anthropic and OpenAI.

Meta last week released its first coding agent, another product tied to its effort to generate revenue from artificial intelligence.

About Manus

Manus is an artificial intelligence company founded in China in 2022 and later relocated to Singapore. The company develops general-purpose AI agents designed to perform tasks on behalf of users.

At the time of publishing, Stocks.News holds positions in Meta as mentioned in the article.