PALO ALTO, June 11, 2026 — Meta Corporation officially announced the unilateral termination of its agreement to acquire the Dutch VR startup Manus, which specializes in motion capture and haptic feedback technologies. The failed deal was valued at $2 billion.

The rejection of the acquisition was an unexpected turn for the technology market, as the parties were in the final stages of closing the deal, and industry analysts had described the purchase of Manus as a "key building block" in Mark Zuckerberg's strategy to develop the metaverse and improve the Quest VR headset series.

 What went wrong?
In the official press release, Meta* cites "unforeseen regulatory challenges and changes in the company's macroeconomic priorities." However, sources close to the Meta* board of directors have revealed deeper reasons:

Antitrust pressure: EU and US regulators have increased their scrutiny of asset consolidation in the wearable technology sector in recent months. There was a high risk that the deal would be blocked in court due to concerns about monopolizing the VR peripherals market.
Shift in focus to AI: With a general decline in interest in expensive hardware developments, Meta* has decided to reallocate its budgets. The company's primary focus in 2026 has shifted towards generative artificial intelligence and neural network models, which require significant computational power and investment.
Integration issues: During the deep audit (due diligence), difficulties arose with scaling Manus technologies to the mass market. The startup's equipment, effective in professional studios, proved difficult to adapt for everyday consumer use.
Market reaction
The news caused an instant reaction on the stock exchanges. Manus shares, which were unofficially traded on the over-the-counter market in anticipation of the takeover, plummeted in value. At the same time, Meta* shares showed a moderate increase (+1.2%), which analysts attribute to investors' approval of the company's decision to "save billions" and abandon risky investments.

 "This is a worrying signal for the industry," says Gartner analyst Mark Stevens. "The rejection of Manus shows that Meta* is no longer willing to buy innovation at any cost. The era of 'crazy spending' on the metaverse is officially over."

 What awaits Manus?
The Dutch startup's management has stated that they are "deeply disappointed" by Meta's decision, but they intend to continue working on their products as an independent company. Experts believe that Manus may now become a target for acquisition by other market players, such as Apple or Sony, but it is unlikely that anyone will offer the same high valuation as Meta* has so far.

 Currently, Meta* is obligated to pay Manus the penalty stipulated in the pre-contract, but the details of the financial penalties have not been disclosed.