Why China Blocked Meta’s $2B Deal (Ep. 59)

China just killed a $2 billion deal, and Zuck is officially left at the altar. This week, we’re breaking down the absolute chaos of the blocked Manus AI acquisition, from the "missing" CEOs to the Chinese government flex that just reminded everyone who’s actually in charge of the IP. We’re also calling out the "vibe-coding" of it all—because let’s be honest, Manus basically just control-C, control-V’d the entire Claude brand.    But the B2B mess doesn't stop there:   The Rematch: Salesforce and Slack file a new lawsuit against Microsoft - is the Teams bundling fight ever going to end?  The New Overhead: Your AI bill is officially bigger than your payroll, and the launch of Claude Design just exposed which AI-native companies are actually in trouble. The Pivot: Anthony Pierri and Arnav Bhardwaj argue that Lovable’s move into "agents" puts them in a direct collision course with the giants.   Plus the latest LinkedIn plagiarism drama with two big creators (Lewis Kemp and Louis Butterfield).   If you’ve got a take, drop it in the comments or send this to someone who needs it.   Connect with the hosts: Tim Davidson – https://www.linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41 Tas Bober – https://www.linkedin.com/in/tasbober Subscribe for more no-BS breakdowns of the internet’s wildest B2B moments. Sponsors Special thanks to the brands supporting Notorious B2B. Vector The B2B ad platform built around real buyer intent. Learn more at https://www.vector.co/