Chinese tech companies leverage OpenClaw as they race to deploy AI agents

China is rapidly deploying its popular artificial intelligence tool OpenClaw, with major tech companies and even local governments rushing to expand access to the lobster-themed open-source AI agent in recent weeks.

AI agents are digital assistants that can handle tasks like sending emails, scheduling meetings, and making restaurant reservations with minimal human guidance. Unlike chatbots, which simply respond to prompts, AI agents can take proactive actions, but they often require extensive access to data and systems, raising privacy and security concerns.

Chinese technology giant tencent announced on Tuesday that the company has launched a full suite of easy-to-use AI products built on OpenClaw, dubbed “Lobster Special Forces” and compatible with the company’s popular super app WeChat.

Launched on the same day Shiura AI launched its own local version of OpenClaw, offering an AI agent with over 50 popular skills pre-installed through “one-click installation.”

Similar moves by other Chinese companies have helped increase consumer interest, with OpenClaw usage in China exceeding that in the United States, according to U.S. cybersecurity firm Security Scorecard.

“In terms of adopting new technology, I think there’s definitely a very large community in China that is always willing to try out what’s out there, what’s new, and don’t want to be left behind,” said Jaylen He, CEO of Violoop, a Shenzhen-based startup that is developing a device that has similar functionality to OpenClaw but claims to have lower security risks.

“I have friends who aren’t even in the tech industry… They’re doing this and they’re running businesses,” he said.

As China’s economy continues to face headwinds, OpenClaw presents an opportunity for domestic technology companies looking to attract paying users to snap up.

Winston Ma, an adjunct professor at New York University School of Law, said the nationwide OpenClaw craze is increasing the popularity of large-scale language models developed by China.

Autonomous AI agents like OpenClaw are typically model-agnostic and can be integrated with a variety of large-scale language models, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude.

OpenRouter, a startup that gives developers access to AI models through a single interface, says the top three tools used by OpenClaw users in its market last month were all Chinese companies, with combined usage double that of the three most popular Google Gemini and Anthropic Claude models.

Chinese-made AI models launched this year are increasingly closing the gap on their U.S. rivals while offering AI capabilities at a fraction of the price.

This significantly reduces bills for users running OpenClaw. First released in November, the tool allows users to send requests through popular messaging apps like Telegram and WhatsApp, allowing AI agents to perform multiple tasks autonomously. Peter Steinberger, the Austrian who developed the tool, joined OpenAI in mid-February.

While OpenClaw’s popularity has skyrocketed recently, experts have previously noted limitations to mass deployment of the AI ​​agent, including a complex installation process that would be difficult for non-expert users.

Chinese technology companies are working to simplify installation.

After first sparking interest last month, Chinese social media platforms have been flooded with posts about company-sponsored installation events. Some organizers handed out Red Lobster stuffed animals to highlight the project’s crustacean-themed branding.

Volcano Engine, the cloud division of TikTok owner ByteDance, recently announced a version of OpenClaw called ArkClaw that can be used in a web browser, eliminating the need for complex local setups.

Meanwhile, some companies are offering support to Chinese consumers who want to use OpenClaw in their tools.

Last week, Tencent held free in-person OpenClaw setup sessions in its Chinese technology hub, Shenzhen, and helped “hundreds” of people install the tool on TencentCloud.

JD.com launched a dedicated page on Tuesday where users can pay 399 yuan ($58) to receive remote assistance for software deployment from Lenovo’s IT maintenance team Baiying. Meituan reportedly announced a similar partnership with Lenovo on Monday.

Growing interest in OpenClaw is changing the way Chinese consumers pay for AI.

Violoop, which plans to launch its first devices on Kickstarter in April for about $300 each and $30 per month for AI services, initially intended to focus on the U.S. and other overseas markets, CEO He said.

But now the startup is focusing on launching in China instead.

“I think we’ll see a significant increase in 2026 and beyond, post-OpenClaw, in terms of (interest in) paying for good models and MiniMax and Kimi releasing very capable models,” he said Wednesday. “I’m not saying they can probably surpass ChatGPT or Anthropic, but they’re definitely getting close and definitely creating value for their users. So this is a new change for us.”

The startup has already completed at least two rounds of initial funding this year, primarily to cover production costs.

Despite official warnings published by Chinese state media about OpenClaw’s security risks, several local governments have proposed incentives in the past week to encourage companies to develop applications using the AI ​​tool.

Shenzhen’s Longgang District and Hefei’s High-Tech Development Zone have proposed equity financing support of up to 10 million yuan ($1.46 million), along with other direct subsidies for “individual enterprises” using OpenClaw. The Suzhou city district announced it would offer similar subsidies, as well as 30 days of free office space, accommodation and meals.

The term “private enterprise”, which refers to one or a few individuals who use AI to quickly build a business, is becoming increasingly popular in China, especially after the Chinese government concluded a meeting this week to formalize a five-year plan to boost domestic technology development.

The increasing participation of Chinese people in the OpenClaw epidemic is further accelerating the global phenomenon. As a sign of its popularity, the AI ​​Agent project has more stars on the GitHub coding platform than Linux, the revolutionary open source operating system that powers modern computing.

“This is like the ChatGPT moment of 2022. This is like the 202(5) DeepSeek moment,” said Violoop’s He. “I think the hunger and desire for a personal assistant that really helps users has been there for a long time, but it’s been suppressed for a very long time.”

—CNBC’s Anniek Bao contributed to this report.