Sorry Mark Zuckerberg, customers of the company with Chinese roots you spent $2 billion on are not happy; say: Are sad that…
Meta’s $2 billion acquisition of Manus, a Singapore-based AI startup with Chinese roots, has backfired in an unexpected way. Instead of celebrating the deal, some existing customers are jumping ship, citing deep-seated concerns about Meta’s data practices, according to a CNBC report.Seth Dobrin, co-founder and CEO of Arya Labs, told CNBC that Manus was his favorite AI platform—but he’s ditching it now that Meta owns it. “I do not agree with a lot of Meta’s practices around data and how they essentially weaponize people’s personal data against them,” Dobrin said. “I’m legitimately sad that this has happened.”Karl Yeh, co-founder of consulting firm 0260.AI, echoed similar concerns. His company stopped using Manus and advised clients to do the same. “Will the data policies of Meta apply to Manus? I would assume it will eventually,” Yeh told CNBC. He’s now moving to alternatives like Genspark, where there’s more certainty about the future.
Meta’s enterprise trust problem gets exposed
Meta announced the Manus deal in late December, promising to scale the AI agent service to “many more businesses.” Manus, which launched its first general-purpose AI agent last year, can handle complex tasks like market research, coding, and data analysis. The startup claimed it had reached millions of paying customers and hit a revenue run rate exceeding $125 million.Despite Meta’s promises that Manus would keep operating independently from Singapore, customers aren’t buying it. The exodus points to a bigger issue: Meta simply doesn’t have the enterprise credibility that OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic have built. When you’re known for ad-driven social media, convincing businesses you’ll handle their sensitive data responsibly is an uphill battle.
China wants answers about the $2 billion deal
The plot thickens beyond customer complaints. China’s commerce ministry is now reviewing whether the acquisition violates technology export controls, according to the Financial Times. Manus started life in China in 2022 before relocating to Singapore—a move Beijing apparently sees as a potential blueprint for other Chinese startups looking to dodge domestic oversight.Meta has tried to distance itself, stating there will be “no continuing Chinese ownership interests in Manus AI” and that services in China will shut down. But between regulatory scrutiny from Beijing and customers heading for the exits, Zuckerberg‘s $2 billion bet is already hitting turbulence.For a company that’s pledged to spend $100 billion on AI this year, losing customers before the ink on the deal is dry isn’t exactly the start Meta was hoping for.
