China’s regulators just slammed the door on Meta Platforms’ boldest AI bet yet. The National Development and Reform Commission announced on April 27, 2026, that it prohibits foreign investment in the Manus project. Parties must unwind the $2 billion acquisition entirely. No further explanation. Just a stark command from Beijing. Manus, the agentic AI darling everyone buzzed about, started in Beijing back in 2022. Founders Xiao Hong as CEO, Yichao Ji as chief scientist, and Tao Zhang launched it under parent company Butterfly Effect. By mid-2025, they shifted headquarters to Singapore. Meta swooped in December 2025, paying up to $3 billion to fold Manus’s autonomous agents—think coding, data crunching—into its Meta AI stack. About 100 employees relocated to Singapore offices by March 2026. Founders took executive spots; Xiao Hong reports to Meta COO Javier Olivan. Deal done, or so they thought. But Beijing wasn’t buying the relocation story. A probe kicked off in January 2026. Things got tense fast.…