China has ordered the unwinding of Meta’s acquisition of the artificial intelligence startup Manus, a move that signals a sharper turn in Beijing’s approach to foreign investment in sensitive technologies and intensifies uncertainty for AI founders operating across borders. The decision, issued by China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), effectively prohibits foreign investment in Manus and instructs the parties involved to reverse the deal. Officials said t

Manus was once one of the most talked about AI startups in China, celebrated for building general purpose AI agents that could act like digital employees and handle tasks such as research, automation, travel planning, stock analysis, and even job candidate screening with minimal prompting. Its rapid rise made it a symbol of China’s growing AI ambitions, but the company’s latest chapter shows just how politically charged the global AI race has become. What began as a startup s

MyFitnessPal has acquired Cal AI, the viral AI powered calorie tracking app built by teenage founders, marking one of the most notable consumer AI deals of the year. The acquisition follows months of pursuit and reflects a broader shift in health tech, where legacy platforms are increasingly buying fast growing AI native startups rather than attempting to rebuild their own systems from scratch (Bort; The Tech Buzz). Cal AI was founded by Zach Yadegari, now 19, who began build