TLDR
- An AI agent called OpenClaw, created by Austrian developer Peter Steinberger, has become a viral sensation in China, with adoption rates exceeding those in the United States.
- Major Chinese technology companies Baidu and Tencent are organizing large-scale public gatherings to assist ordinary citizens in installing and configuring the software.
- The platform has been affectionately dubbed “raising a lobster” by users, who employ it for launching solo enterprises, selecting investment opportunities, and streamlining workflows.
- Regional authorities are providing financial incentives reaching 20 million yuan ($2.8 million) annually to support eligible “one-person companies.”
- Financial institutions, educational establishments, government bodies, and Chinese regulatory authorities are issuing cautions against the technology due to data protection vulnerabilities.
China’s enthusiasm for artificial intelligence reached unprecedented heights this year following the emergence of OpenClaw, an open-source AI agent developed by Austrian programmer Peter Steinberger. This sophisticated tool can operate computers autonomously, navigate the internet, purchase airline tickets, and coordinate other automated systems — all functioning independently of human oversight.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang described it as “the next ChatGPT.” Within China, it has evolved into a cultural phenomenon.
Chinese users have affectionately termed the application “lobster,” transforming its installation process into a communal experience. Technology corporations such as Baidu and Tencent have organized massive public demonstrations where hundreds of participants queued to have the application configured on their personal devices and mobile phones.
“Everyone in my circle — coworkers and acquaintances — appears to have adopted it,” remarked Gong Sheng, a recent user who participated in a Baidu demonstration in Beijing. “I’m determined not to fall behind.”
Following its initial release in November 2025, OpenClaw emerged as among the most rapidly expanding projects in GitHub’s history, the planet’s predominant platform for software development.
US-based cybersecurity company SecurityScorecard discovered that China has now exceeded the United States in OpenClaw implementation rates.
How Users Are Putting It to Work
Users throughout China are discovering diverse applications for this technology. Many are leveraging it to establish what’s being termed “one-person companies” — compact enterprises operated almost exclusively through artificial intelligence.
“Human workers require rest periods, but OpenClaw operates continuously around the clock,” explained Wang Xiaoyan, who is utilizing the agent to launch her own enterprise.
Additional users are deploying it for selecting equity investments, purchasing lottery entries, establishing online retail operations, or developing revenue-generating applications.
Regional governmental bodies are actively supporting this trend. Several jurisdictions are extending subsidies reaching 20 million yuan annually for approved one-person business ventures constructed using AI technologies.
Senior citizens and university students have participated in configuration sessions, aspiring to create supplementary revenue streams. During a workshop conducted by AI startup Zhipu in Beijing, sixty-year-old Fan Xinquan explained he was developing an agent to catalog his professional expertise more effectively than conversational AI platforms like DeepSeek.
This initiative corresponds with China’s comprehensive AI Plus strategic framework, designed to integrate artificial intelligence throughout the nation’s economic infrastructure.
Security Warnings and Rising Costs
Not all observers share this enthusiasm. Chinese regulatory bodies have intensified advisories regarding data protection and security vulnerabilities associated with OpenClaw.
Government departments, financial institutions, securities firms, and academic institutions have prohibited staff members from deploying the software. China’s government-controlled People’s Daily released an editorial calling on authorities to “rigorously uphold the security baseline.”
End users have also voiced apprehensions. “It’s challenging for ordinary individuals to understand what permissions we’ve granted and what information it has collected,” stated user Gong Zheng.
Practical challenges have emerged as well. AI startup Zhipu increased token pricing on its OpenClaw-compatible model by 20% during the current week.
A message on Chinese social networking platform Rednote, headlined “Goodbye OpenClaw,” detailed how typical users invested substantial sums on tokens only to receive “a collection of worthless information.”
At a recent Baidu demonstration, an OpenClaw agent utilized voice activation to request coffee from a McDonald’s application through a connected device. The transaction required almost two minutes to complete — illustrating the disparity between the technology’s theoretical capabilities and its present practical functionality.
