Manus Early Investors Plan to Buy Back Company from Meta at $2 Billion

According to reports from The Information and other media, early Chinese investors in the general AI agent company Manus—including Sequoia China (HSG), ZhenFund, and Tencent—are planning to repurchase Manus equity from Meta at a price of $2 billion. This price matches the consideration Meta paid when it acquired Manus last December.

Background and Transaction Reversal

Manus was founded in April 2022 and gained popularity in March 2025 due to its AI agent tools, subsequently completing multiple funding rounds. In December 2025, Meta announced the acquisition of Manus for $2 billion, making it Meta's third-largest acquisition since its inception. However, due to regulatory issues involving core AI technology and data compliance, the acquisition was terminated in April 2026. Since then, Meta and Manus have been conducting internal business separation and have stopped data sharing.

Buyback Details and Investor Composition

According to reports, Sequoia China and ZhenFund do not plan to reclaim distributed sale proceeds from limited partners; instead, they will use new funds to repurchase Meta's stake in Manus. Tencent will also participate in the buyback. U.S. venture capital firm Benchmark has chosen to exit and will not participate. With Benchmark's departure, Chinese investors will hold a larger stake in Manus after the buyback.

Financial Data and Valuation

Manus's annualized recurring revenue (ARR) has risen to between $400 million and $500 million in recent weeks, approximately four times the $100 million at the time of acquisition. Its business model is subscription-based, with monthly fees ranging from $20 to $200. Based on current revenue, Manus's market valuation far exceeds $2 billion, so Chinese investors repurchasing at the original price are effectively acquiring a company worth double at a discount.

Future Plans

Manus is considering restructuring the company into a domestic joint venture to lay the groundwork for an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong. This structural adjustment aims to ensure shareholding structure within a compliance framework and increase IPO certainty.