Manus founders plan to raise $1 billion to withdraw from the Meta acquisition and seek a Hong Kong listing.

According to Beating, a Bloomberg report states that the three founders of AI startup Manus—Xiao Hong, Ji Yichao, and Zhang Tao—are discussing a buyback plan to raise approximately $1 billion from external investors to counter regulatory pressure to withdraw Meta's acquisition of Manus. Sources familiar with the matter revealed that the buyback valuation would at least match the $2 billion paid by Meta during the acquisition. In addition to the planned $1 billion in external funding, the founders may also personally contribute to cover the remaining amount. If negotiations are successful, Manus will establish a joint venture in China with these investors and seek a Hong Kong listing. In April of this year, Meta's acquisition of Manus was withdrawn under regulatory pressure. Regulators have clearly stated their commitment to preventing sensitive technologies from flowing to US companies. Previously, regulators had taken a similarly stringent stance, prohibiting domestic tech giants such as ByteDance and Moonlight Entertainment from accepting US investment without approval. Since most of the deal has already been completed, a complete reversal of the transaction faces significant challenges in practice. Manus employees have already joined Meta's Singapore office, and their technology is deeply integrated with the latter's systems. Early investors such as Tencent, Sequoia China, and ZhenFund have received exit funding. Currently, the relevant buyback and spin-off plans are still in the preliminary discussion stage, and the valuation and terms are subject to change at any time. The three founders may ultimately choose to abandon the project.