Manus founder to raise $1 billion to "buy back company" from Meta and plans to list in Hong Kong

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Bloomberg reported that the three founders of Chinese AI Agent startup Manus, Xiao Hong, Ji Yichao, and Zhang Tao, are exploring a buyback plan. They intend to raise approximately $1 billion from external investors at a valuation of at least $2 billion to reverse the acquisition by Meta, which was ordered to be rescinded by the NDRC in April this year. If the negotiations are successful, Manus will establish a joint venture in China with the investors and pursue an IPO in Hong Kong. Reported by BlockTempo. (Previous coverage: Manus code handed over, investment funds received; the intent behind China's forced rescission of the Meta acquisition) (Background: China blocks Meta's acquisition of Manus: $2 billion deal terminated, Singapore export model declared ineffective) Selling one's own company and then raising $1 billion to buy it back is likely the script an entrepreneur would least want to rehearse. According to Bloomberg, the three founders of Chinese AI Agent startup Manus are exploring a buyback plan, intending to raise about $1 billion from external investors to address the situation where the Meta acquisition was ordered to be rescinded by Chinese regulators. In April this year, the Office of Foreign Investment Security Review of the NDRC officially issued a prohibition decision, requiring both parties to the transaction to withdraw the acquisition. The focus of the regulators was not on the corporate relocation itself, but on how Manus transferred its core team, R&D capabilities, training data, and intellectual property from China to overseas. In July 2025, approximately 40 core technical personnel from Manus relocated to Singapore, completing the acquisition structure through the Singaporean entity Butterfly Effect, while simultaneously closing domestic social media accounts and blocking Chinese IPs. Six months later, this operation was characterized by regulators as "circumventing overseas," following the same logic as the prohibitions on ByteDance and Moonshot AI from accepting US capital without approval. The NDRC's requirement was clear: AI technology developed in China cannot flow to US enterprises. If the buyback negotiations succeed, the next step is to establish a joint venture in China and seek an IPO in Hong Kong. This is equivalent to re-installing the technical capabilities that have already been moved out into a structure under the Chinese regulatory framework. The phrase "reversing a transaction" is easy to write, but operating it is another matter. Most of the transaction has effectively been completed, as Manus employees are currently working at Meta's Singapore office, the technology has been deeply integrated with Meta's systems, and early investors such as Tencent, Sequoia China, and ZhenFund have already received their exit funds. The founders' own situation is equally awkward. After being interviewed by the NDRC in March this year, Xiao Hong and Ji Yichao were told they were prohibited from leaving the country, while most of the team is in Singapore. Insiders emphasized that the buyback and spin-off plans are still in the preliminary discussion stage, valuations and terms may change at any time, and the three founders may ultimately choose to give up. The difficulty of extracting the technology from Meta's systems is likely higher than the initial integration. Why do the Manus founders want to buy back their company from Meta? In April this year, the NDRC officially prohibited Meta's $2 billion acquisition of Manus on the grounds of foreign investment security review, requiring both parties to withdraw the transaction. The founders are exploring raising about $1 billion for a buyback and plan to set up a joint venture in China and pursue an IPO in Hong Kong. What difficulties does the Manus buyback face? The main difficulties include: employees have already joined Meta's Singapore office, the technology has been deeply integrated with Meta's systems, and early investors such as Tencent and Sequoia have already received their exit funds. In addition, founders Xiao Hong and Ji Yichao are restricted from leaving the country, separated from the Singapore team.

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