Manus Resumes Independent Operations After Meta Split
The agent developer is again operating independently, with its founders retaining control after a disruptive separation from Meta.
A completed separation
Manus said it has formally resumed independent operations, closing a turbulent chapter that began when its acquisition by Meta was unwound under regulatory pressure. Founder Xiao Hong, co-founder Zhang Tao and chief scientist Ji Yichao will continue to lead the general-purpose AI agent developer.
The announcement converts an earlier transition plan into an operational fact. Some users had to back up and restore their information, while service was temporarily interrupted for affected accounts. Manus said restored data has no submission deadline and that users untouched by the transition need take no action.
The disruption reflects the unusual complexity of separating an AI service whose value depends on user histories, stored tasks and access to external tools. Reuters reported in August that data generated by certain users after Meta’s December 2025 acquisition would be deleted to meet regulatory requirements in specified jurisdictions. The separation therefore involved more than a corporate change: parts of the product’s data continuity had to be rebuilt around a new legal and ownership structure.
An agent company with its autonomy restored
Manus now describes itself as an independent agent laboratory. Its stated roadmap emphasizes deeper integration with everyday workflows, more direct interaction with outside services and agents that act proactively rather than waiting for individual instructions. Those ambitions remain broad, and the company disclosed no new model, financing arrangement or ownership breakdown alongside today’s announcement.
The development matters because a completed, multibillion-dollar AI acquisition has effectively been reversed while the target remains operational. Manus gives regulators, founders and investors a rare working example of how cross-border intervention can reshape ownership, data handling and product availability after a deal has already closed. Its next challenge is demonstrating that independence can preserve global distribution and product momentum without Meta’s infrastructure and capital.