AI startup Manus said on Tuesday it will resume operating as an independent company and some user data will be deleted as part of its separation from US tech giant Meta.

“As part of our transition back to independent operations and to comply with regulatory requirements in specific jurisdictions, data generated by certain users on/after December 29, 2025” will be deleted later this month, Manus said in a statement.

Affected users will be notified through the Manus app and by email and will be able to back up their data, the company said.

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“This is part of our separation from Meta,” it said.

According to Reuters, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) had ordered Meta in April to unwind its $2 billion-plus acquisition of Manus, as Beijing tightened scrutiny of US investment in domestic startups developing frontier technologies. The regulator’s move highlighted China’s commitment to stopping US firms acquiring Chinese AI talent and intellectual property, even as Washington tries to limit Chinese tech firms’ access to advanced US chips.

The NDRC’s office for reviewing the security of foreign investments said it would “prohibit foreign investment in Manus in accordance with laws and regulations, and requires the parties involved to withdraw the acquisition transaction,” Reuters reported, though it did not name Meta or other overseas investors in Manus.

After a $75 million fundraising round led by US venture firm Benchmark in May 2025, Manus shut its China offices in July, laying off dozens of employees, before moving its operations to Singapore, Reuters said. That move enabled Manus’s parent company, Butterfly Effect, to re-incorporate in Singapore and bypass US investment restrictions on Chinese AI firms, as well as Chinese rules limiting domestic AI firms’ ability to transfer their IP and capital overseas.

Also Read: China to probe Meta’s $2 bn acquisition of AI startup Manus amid rising tech curbs

Analysts and lawyers cited by Reuters said the rare move to unwind a completed deal underscored how Beijing was looking to establish its jurisdiction over cross-border transactions involving Chinese assets, shareholders or technology under its national security review regime. “The transaction complied fully with applicable law. We anticipate an appropriate resolution to the inquiry,” Meta had said in response to Beijing’s move at the time, Reuters reported.

Chinese gaming and internet company Tencent has been in talks to become Manus’s largest shareholder, Reuters reported in July.