Meta’s acquisition of Manus drew widespread criticism in China for what was perceived as the handing over of critical technology to a geopolitical rival.
Chinese multinational technology company Tencent is in talks to become the largest external shareholder at AI start-up Manus in a deal that would further unwind Meta from a similar deal made previously, according to a report from Reuters, which cited two sources close to the matter.
It was previously reported that US tech giant Meta would acquire Manus for roughly $2bn as the organisation aimed to further advance its work in the AI space. However, in April of this year, it was announced that Manus – which is based in Singapore, but originated in China – and Meta had begun dismantling the deal as a result of the Chinese government blocking it on the grounds of national security.
When the deal was initially announced, it drew widespread criticism in China for what was perceived as the handing over of critical technology to a geopolitical rival.
An investigation commenced soon after, leading to the eventual dissolution of the agreement after the Chinese government blocked the deal.
Other investors reported to be involved in the new deal – which was first reported by the Financial Times – alongside Tencent are ZhenFund and HSG, both of whom were original investors in Manus.
Investing in Manus is, for Tencent, an opportunity to further develop a reputation in the booming global artificial intelligence sector. In June, the organisation began testing a new AI assistant on its own app, WeChat, in an attempt to keep pace with its competitors in the space.
WeChat users can interact with Xiaowei, Tencent’s AI agent, via text or voice prompts and the AI uses WeChat’s own large language model WeLM, while also tapping into DeepSeek to process additional queries.
Tencent has recently backed other innovators working in the AI space, such as DeepSeek, according to reports. In mid-June it was reported that Tencent was involved in a round in which the DeepSeek raised more than $7.4bn at a $50bn-plus post-money valuation. Tencent was also reported to have proposed taking a 20pc stake in DeepSeek.
Updated, 2.43pm, 13 July 2026: This article was amended to clarify facts related to China’s investigation of the Meta-Manus acquisition, to clarify that ZhenFund and HSG were original investors in Manus before the Meta acquisition, and to clarify that Reuters and the Financial Times published the original reports.
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