The geopolitical tug-of-war over artificial intelligence has reached a predictable, if dramatic, flashpoint. As the U.S. and China race for AI supremacy, the story of Manus—a breakout Chinese startup that tried to switch sides—highlights the extreme risks of navigating between two superpowers.
The Meteoric Rise and the Singapore Pivot
Manus entered the scene last spring with a viral demo of an AI agent capable of complex tasks like vacation planning and stock analysis. It didn’t just compete; it claimed to outperform OpenAI’s Deep Research. The momentum was immediate. Benchmark led a $75 million funding round, and by year-end, the company was generating over $100 million in recurring revenue.
However, Manus wasn’t just building tech; it was building an exit strategy. The company relocated its headquarters to Singapore and restructured its ownership to distance itself from Beijing. When Meta eventually acquired Manus for $2 billion, Mark Zuckerberg’s team pledged to sever all ties with Chinese investors and shutter all mainland operations.
Beijing’s “Young Crops” Problem
In China, this flight of talent and intellectual property is known as “selling young crops”—the practice of homegrown startups maturing abroad only to be harvested by foreign rivals. Beijing has historically viewed such moves as a threat to national security and economic pride.
The response was swift and heavy-handed. Reports indicate that Manus co-founders Xiao Hong and Ji Yichao were recently summoned by the National Development and Reform Commission. They are currently under a “routine regulatory review” regarding foreign investment rules and are reportedly barred from leaving the country.
A Familiar Pattern of Control
This crackdown isn’t an isolated incident. From the disappearance of Jack Ma to the dismantling of the private tutoring sector, Beijing has consistently shown that no tech giant operates outside its reach. For founders, the allure of Silicon Valley capital and Meta’s infrastructure comes with a steep price: the wrath of a government that refuses to let its AI future be exported.
The Global Talent War
The stakes are underscored by a Carnegie Endowment study showing that the vast majority of elite Chinese AI researchers at U.S. institutions never return home. As startups like Manus try to bridge the gap, they find themselves caught in a regulatory pincer movement.
For those navigating these turbulent waters, industry gatherings like TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 and the TechCrunch Founder Summit remain critical venues for understanding the intersection of innovation and global policy. For the founders of Manus, however, the immediate future isn’t about the next exit—it’s about whether they will be allowed to leave at all.
