Manus founder plans to raise $1 billion to revoke Meta's acquisition and seek a listing in Hong Kong

ME News Report, May 21 (UTC+8), Bloomberg reports that the three founders of AI startup Manus, Xiao Hong, Ji Yichao, and Zhang Tao, are exploring a buyback plan, aiming to raise approximately $1 billion from external investors to respond to regulatory demands to revoke the Meta acquisition of Manus.

Sources reveal that the aforementioned buyback valuation will at least match the $2 billion paid during Meta's acquisition. In addition to planning to introduce $1 billion in external funding, the founders may also personally cover the remaining amount. If negotiations succeed, Manus will establish a joint venture with these investors in China and seek to list in Hong Kong.

In April this year, the Meta acquisition of Manus was ordered to be revoked by regulators. Authorities explicitly stated they will do their best to prevent sensitive technology from flowing to U.S. companies. Previously, regulatory agencies had taken a similarly strict stance, prohibiting domestic tech giants like ByteDance and Moon Shadow from accepting U.S. capital without approval.

Since most transactions have already been completed, it is extremely difficult to fully reverse the deal in practice. Manus employees have now joined Meta’s office in Singapore, and the technology has been deeply integrated into Meta’s systems. Early investors such as Tencent, Sequoia China, and ZhenFund have also received exit funds. Currently, the buyback and split plans are still in preliminary discussion, with valuations and terms subject to change at any time. The three founders may ultimately choose to give up. (Source: Bloomberg)