Tencent in Talks to Become Singapore AI Startup Manus' Largest Shareholder

Chinese internet giant Tencent is in talks to become the largest shareholder in Singapore-based AI startup Manus, according to sources who spoke to the Financial Times and The Business Times. The move comes as investors seek alternatives after Beijing ordered Meta to unwind its US$2 billion acquisition of the agentic AI company, which develops autonomous AI agents capable of carrying out complex tasks with minimal human input.

Tencent, together with Manus' original investors including ZhenFund and HSG, is planning to buy the company back from Meta for no less than US$2 billion, sources said. Manus relocated its operations to Singapore from China last year, and Meta announced the blockbuster acquisition in December 2025 to bolster its own agentic AI capabilities. But China launched a review in April into whether the deal violated investment rules, ultimately ordering Meta to reverse the transaction — one of the highest-profile cases of Beijing blocking a cross-border tech deal involving a non-China-incorporated company.

Since Beijing's order, Meta has executed an operational split from Manus internally and stopped data sharing between the firms. The Tencent deal would represent a dramatic twist in the saga, bringing a major Chinese technology player into direct ownership of a Singapore-based AI startup at the centre of US-China tech tensions. It also signals that Chinese capital continues to find ways to access frontier AI talent and technology through Singapore-based entities.

The Manus story has become a defining case study for Singapore's role in global AI geopolitics. The startup's journey — founded in China, moved to Singapore, acquired by Meta, then ordered unwound by Beijing, and now potentially owned by Tencent — illustrates how Singapore serves as a critical intermediary jurisdiction where competing US and Chinese interests intersect. For Singapore-based AI startups, this creates both opportunity and regulatory complexity as they navigate cross-border ownership rules.

Why it matters for Singapore: The Manus-Tencent deal reinforces Singapore's position as the de facto neutral ground for AI dealmaking between East and West. But it also raises questions about how much control Chinese tech giants can exert over Singapore-registered AI companies, and whether local regulators need clearer frameworks for foreign ownership of AI startups. For the broader SG AI ecosystem, the message is clear: Singapore-based AI companies are prize assets in a global contest, and the city-state's rules of engagement will shape who ultimately controls the frontier technology being built here.