Manus, an AI agent released by start-up Monica Photo: VCG

Manus, an AI agent released by Singapore-based tech start-up Monica, said in a note to users on Tuesday that it will soon return to operating as an independent company. 

According to the company's note, "this is part of our separation from Meta; we must take this step to comply with regulatory requirements in specific parts of the world."

As part of Manus transition back to independent operations and to comply with regulatory requirements in specific jurisdictions, data generated by certain users on or after December 29, 2025, will be deleted from 8:00 am on August 23 through August 24, 2026 (SGT), according to the note.  

Affected users will be able to back up their data from now until 7:59 am on August 23, 2026 (SGT) and restore it starting from 8:00 am on August 25, 2026 (SGT), according to the company.

Regarding why the data deletion only affects data generated since December 29, 2025, Manus said in the note that Meta acquired Manus on that date. Data generated by some users on or after the acquisition needs to be deleted to comply with regulatory requirements in certain jurisdictions.

In March 2025, the startup Butterfly Effect launched Manus. As the world's first general AI agent, Manus became an overnight sensation with a demo video, and access codes were, at one point, resold for tens of thousands of yuan. As a result, Manus was briefly seen by the industry as "the second DeepSeek." Just a few months later, however, Manus moved its headquarters to Singapore, significantly downsized its domestic team, retained only core technical staff, and ceased its services and operations in China.

In December last year, Meta announced the acquisition of Manus for approximately $2 billion, making it the third-largest acquisition in Meta's history.

In April, China's Office of the Working Mechanism for Security Review of Foreign Investment under the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced its decision to prohibit, in accordance with laws and regulations, the foreign acquisition of the Manus project and required the parties involved to revoke the transaction, according to the official website of the NDRC.

This decision reflects China's continued efforts to improve its foreign investment review system and regulate cross-border mergers and acquisitions in accordance with laws and regulations, Ma Jihua, a veteran industry analyst, told the Global Times in a previous interview.

Addressing a question that the office of the foreign investment security review working mechanism has formally issued a decision to prohibit foreign investment in the Manus acquisition project and has ordered the parties involved to revoke the acquisition deal, and that two Manus executives have reportedly been barred from leaving China, Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told a press briefing on April 28 that " As a matter of principle, I would like to stress that the Chinese government conducts reviews of foreign investment and makes relevant decisions in accordance with laws and regulations."

Global Times