TL;DR
- Revenue Surge: Manus’ annualized revenue is reported at $400 million to $500 million as early backers seek control.
- Buyback Status: The Meta buyback remains reported and unconfirmed, with no official sale terms published.
- Regulatory Pressure: China’s unwind order turned the deal into a financing and control fight.
- Next Gates: HSG and ZhenFund still need financing, Meta exit terms, and any China-based structure.
Singapore-based, Chinese-founded AI agent company Manus whose software is designed to complete multistep tasks across a user’s workflow, is trying to find the best way for unwinding an imploded acquisition by Meta. The failed acquisition of the company has become tangled in Chinese regulatory scrutiny, forcing investors to consider how to unwind the deal, value Meta’s stake and keep the business operating independently while ownership remains unresolved.
Manus is now reported at an annualized revenue range between $400 million and $500 million as HSG, ZhenFund and Tencent pursue control from Facebook parent Meta Platforms. For the AI agent firm, that yearly run-rate estimate is up from roughly $100 million and sharpens the financing test around a reported revenue surge.
Buyback terms remain reported and incomplete so far. No official confirmation has been published for the buyback plan, the price, or Meta’s stake-sale terms.
Current talks follow an earlier financing effort after Meta’s 2025 original acquisition ran into a regulatory blockade.
Revenue Surge Raises the Price of an Unwind
The new run-rate estimate for Manus changes how a reversal would have to be priced. A sale back at the original price would transfer a stronger company, while a higher price would leave HSG, ZhenFund and Tencent weighing the buyback against that benchmark.
Early Manus backers HSG and ZhenFund are considering fresh capital to purchase Meta’s stake, while Benchmark, another investor, is not expected to join the process. Benchmark’s expected absence leaves the financing burden on backers that still want control.
Meta has imposed an internal systems cutoff and barred staff use by Manus while ending internal collaboration and data-sharing arrangements. Internal-access limits urn the valuation dispute into an operating problem because Manus with that loses systems that would have supported integration after a takeover.
Staff continuity, customer support, data access and product planning all now become harder to manage while the ownership of the company remains unsettled. Any buyer or investor pool trying to retake control of Manus has to solve financing and governance while the company is already being separated from the company that was supposed to absorb it.
Such financing pressure typically also affects customers and employees before any ownership structure is finished. A company moving from acquisition integration to forced separation has to maintain support, data access rules and product planning while investors decide whether the numbers still justify the buyback.
Regulators Turned a Deal Into a Control Fight
China’s National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s economic planning agency, had issued China’s unwind order on April 27, requiring both sides to withdraw from the transaction. Beijing’s move turned another shiny AI startup acquisition by Meta into a control fight over where a Chinese-founded AI agent company can be owned, financed and scaled.
The earlier financing of the deal centered on a lower revenue baseline. The now higher run-rate of Manus gives investors seeking control more reason to argue for terms that reflect Manus’ current pace, while also increasing the capital they may need to assemble.
Chinese authorities imposed an exit ban and export-control scrutiny around the Manus transaction. As a result, other Chinese AI companies have weighed onshore structures after the Manus block.
Manus had moved its headquarters to Singapore by mid-2025 before Meta’s acquisition offe. The cross-border detail explains why a simple transfer of shares may not settle the company’s operating path immediately.
What Manus Does and What Comes Next
Manus builds autonomous AI agents, software designed to plan and complete multistep tasks rather than only answer prompts. Product work is tied to Butterfly Effect, and the company is Singapore-based and Chinese-founded.
Manus also launched a desktop app in March with a My Computer feature for local file access, terminal commands, development tools and application control under a permission gate. Local tool access puts Manus closer to a user’s workflow than a simple chatbot.
During an ownership transition, product work, permissions and support obligations must continue while control remains unsettled. While backers are now trying to regain control, Manus is evaluating a China-incorporated joint venture that could support a future Hong Kong listing.
HSG and ZhenFund next have to show whether they can finance Meta’s reported $2 billion stake sale after the April 27 unwind order. Financing, Meta’s exit terms and any China-based ownership structure would determine Manus’ future.
