A man wears a lobster hat depicting the OpenClaw logo, an open source AI assistant, at Baidu headquarters in Beijing on March 11, 2026.
Little Brother Berry | Afp | Getty Images
China is quickly adopting the popular artificial intelligence tool OpenClaw, with major tech companies and even local governments scrambling in recent weeks to expand access to the open-source, lobster-themed AI agent.
AI agents are digital assistants that can handle tasks like sending emails, scheduling meetings, and booking restaurant reservations with minimal human guidance. Unlike chatbots, which merely respond to prompts, AI agents can take proactive actions, often requiring greater access to data and systems, raising privacy and security concerns.
Chinese technology giant Tencent announced Tuesday that it has launched a full suite of easy-to-use AI products based on OpenClaw that it calls “Lobster Special Forces” and that are compatible with its popular super app WeChat.
Same day, startup Zhipu AI has launched its own local version of OpenClaw, offering a pre-installed AI agent with over 50 popular skills through “one-click installation”.
Similar moves by other Chinese companies have helped boost consumer interest, with OpenClaw usage in China surpassing that of the US, according to American cybersecurity firm SecurityScorecard.
“In terms of adopting the new technologies, I think China definitely has a really big community that always wants to try out what’s out there, what’s new, and doesn’t want to be left behind,” said Jaylen He, CEO of Violoop, a Shenzhen-based startup that is developing a device that is said to have similar features to OpenClaw but with fewer security risks.
“I have friends who aren’t even in the tech industry… they do it, they run it too,” he said.
As China’s economy continues to face headwinds, OpenClaw presents an opportunity that domestic tech companies looking to attract paying users are rushing to seize.
The nationwide OpenClaw trend has increased the popularity of large language models developed in China, said Winston Ma, an associate professor at NYU School of Law.
Autonomous AI agents like OpenClaw are typically model agnostic, meaning they can be integrated into various large language models, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude.
According to OpenRouter, a startup that gives developers access to AI models through a single interface, the three tools OpenClaw users used most on its marketplace last month were all Chinese companies, with combined usage twice that of the three most used Google Gemini and Anthropic Claude models.
Chinese-made AI models released this year have increasingly narrowed the gap with their U.S. rivals while offering AI capabilities at a fraction of the price.
This significantly reduces costs for users using OpenClaw. The tool, first launched in November, allows users to send requests via popular messaging apps like Telegram and WhatsApp, allowing the AI agent to perform multiple tasks autonomously. The Austrian developer behind the tool, Peter Steinberger, joined OpenAI in mid-February.
Easing installation hurdles
Although OpenClaw has been gaining popularity recently, experts have previously pointed to limitations to mass adoption of the AI agent, including a complex installation process that poses a challenge for non-technical users.
Chinese tech companies are trying to make installation easier.
After an initial surge in interest last month, Chinese social media platforms were flooded with posts about installation events organized by companies. Some organizers handed out red lobster plushies to highlight the project’s crustacean branding.
Engineers (left) install and set up OpenClaw, an open source AI assistant for users, at Baidu headquarters in Beijing on March 11, 2026.
Little Brother Berry | Afp | Getty Images
TikTok owner ByteDance’s cloud unit Volcano Engine recently unveiled a version of OpenClaw called “ArkClaw” that can be used in a web browser, eliminating the need for complex local setup.
Now some companies have even supported consumers in China who want to use OpenClaw with their tools.
Tencent hosted a free in-person OpenClaw setup session last week in the Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen, where the company is headquartered, to help “hundreds” of people install the tool on TencentCloud.
JD.com launched a special site on Tuesday where users can get remote help deploying the software from Lenovo’s information technology maintenance team Baiying for 399 yuan ($58). Meituan reportedly announced a similar partnership with Lenovo on Monday.
Growing interest in OpenClaw is changing the way Chinese consumers pay for AI.
Engineers (front) install and set up OpenClaw, an open source AI assistant, at Baidu headquarters in Beijing on March 11, 2026.
Little Brother Berry | Afp | Getty Images
Violoop, which plans to launch its first device on Kickstarter in April for about $300 per unit and $30 per month for AI services, originally planned to focus on the U.S. and other overseas markets, CEO He said.
But now the startup is focusing on a China launch instead.
“After 2026, after OpenClaw, I think we will see a significant increase, both in terms of [interest in] “We pay for good models and also that MiniMax and Kimi have released very powerful models,” he said on Wednesday. “I wouldn’t say they can maybe outperform ChatGPT or Anthropic, but they’re definitely getting closer to that goal and definitely adding value for users.” So this is a new change for us.”
The startup has already completed at least two rounds of seed funding this year, primarily to cover production costs.
Governments are getting involved
Despite official warnings from Chinese state media about OpenClaw’s security risks, several local governments in the past week have proposed incentives to encourage companies to develop applications using the AI tool.
Shenzhen’s Longgang District and Hefei High-Tech Development Zone proposed equity financing support of up to 10 million yuan ($1.46 million), along with other direct subsidies for “one-person companies” using OpenClaw. A district in the city of Suzhou said it would offer similar subsidies, as well as 30 days of free office space, accommodation and food.
The term “one-person company,” which refers to one or more people using AI to quickly build a business, is gaining popularity in China, particularly as a meeting to formalize a five-year plan to boost domestic technology development concluded in Beijing this week.
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China’s increasing involvement in the OpenClaw craze only adds to a global phenomenon. In a sign of its popularity, the AI Agent project has received more stars on the GitHub coding platform than Linux, a transformative open-source operating system that forms the foundation of modern computers.
“This is like the 2022 ChatGPT moment. This is like the 202nd[5] DeepSeek moment,” said Violoop’s He. “I think the desire, the desire for a personal assistant that can really help the user, the desire is there and has been suppressed for a very long time.”
—CNBC’s Anniek Bao contributed to this report.
People line up to have OpenClaw, an open source AI assistant, installed on their laptops at Baidu headquarters in Beijing on March 11, 2026.
Little Brother Berry | Afp | Getty Images
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