Meta scrambles to unwind Manus deal as Beijing's deadline looms

Meta is actively preparing to unwind the Manus acquisition, according to the Wall Street Journal. The biggest challenge: Meta has already integrated the technology into its own systems, and Manus investors - including venture capital firm Benchmark - have already received their returns. Beijing has set a deadline of several weeks requiring all Chinese assets to be restored and any transferred data and technology to be removed from Meta's systems. Failure to comply could result in penalties.

Several former Asian investors, including Tencent, HSG, and ZhenFund, are planning to cooperate with the unwinding process, according to the WSJ. Before the ban, negotiations were still underway over possible concessions, such as the departure of the founders as a potential compromise.

Investors with stakes in Chinese AI companies warn that moves like this could scare foreign backers away from China's tech sector.