The least surprising chapter of the Manus story is what’s happening right now

Manus co-founders Xiao Hong and Ji Yichao have been barred from leaving China after their AI startup sold itself to Meta for $2 billion.

The Financial Times reported that China's National Development and Reform Commission summoned the founders for an inquiry into whether the deal violated Beijing's foreign investment rules.

Manus had quietly relocated its headquarters and core team from Beijing to Singapore, restructured its ownership, and grown to millions of users with over $100 million in annual recurring revenue before Meta came calling.

Benchmark led a $75 million funding round at a $500 million valuation in spring 2025, after Manus demoed an AI agent that it claimed outperformed OpenAI's Deep Research product.

Senator John Cornyn criticized the investment, asking "Who thinks it is a good idea for American investors to subsidize our biggest adversary in AI?"

China uses the phrase "selling young crops" to describe homegrown AI companies that move abroad and sell to foreign buyers, taking intellectual property and talent with them.

No formal charges have been filed against the Manus founders, but Beijing describes the inquiry as a routine regulatory review while they remain unable to leave China.