The U.S. and China are in an all-out race to build the most powerful AI on the planet, with Beijing investing billions in homegrown models and tightening its grip on the tech sector. However, Manus, one of China's most prominent AI startups, recently sold itself to Meta for $2 billion. The company had been trying to operate outside China's orbit and relocated its headquarters and core team from Beijing to Singapore, restructured its ownership, and pledged to cut ties with Manus’s Chinese investors and shut down its operations in China entirely. However this move has caused controversy in Beijing, with the company's founders being summoned to a meeting with the National Development and Reform Commission and told they won't be leaving the country for a while.