
Why China Blocked Meta’s $2 Billion Acquisition of Manus AI
From Big Take by Bloomberg and iHeartPodcasts
May 5, 2026 · 18 min
About this episode
The episode discusses China's decision to block Meta's acquisition of Manus AI and its implications for global startups.
China’s decision to block Meta’s $2 billion acquisition of AI startup Manus stunned the global AI industry. On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, host K. Oanh Ha speaks with Bloomberg’s Newley Purnell and Lulu Chen about how the deal crumbled and what it signals for Chinese startups trying to go global. Read more: China’s Meta Backlash Renders Manus Model ‘Officially Dead’ Hosted by K. Oanh Ha; Produced by Yang Yang and Naomi Ng; Reported by Newley Purnell and Lulu Chen; Edited by Paddy Hirsch. Fact-checking by Eleanor Harrison-Dengate; Engineering by Alex Sugiura. Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
People in this episode
Host: K. Oanh Ha
Guests: Newley Purnell, Lulu Chen
Topics covered
- China
- Meta
- AI acquisition
- global startups
- business news
Keywords
- China
- Meta
- Manus AI
- acquisition
- AI industry
- startups
- business
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Meta, Manus AI
Places: China
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