Manus announced it will return to operating as an independent company after Chinese authorities forced Meta to abandon a $2 billion acquisition deal, a move reflecting the escalating competition between Beijing and Washington in the artificial intelligence sector. Meta had announced its acquisition of Manus, a startup specializing in developing general AI agents, last December. Manus was founded in China in 2022 before relocating to Singapore.The deal quickly drew scrutiny from authorities in Beijing and Washington, with China opening an investigation into possible violations of foreign investment rules, according to CNBC on Tuesday, August 11.