The “lobster” craze in China has quickly turned into a corporate land grab.
Within weeks of OpenClaw gaining traction among developers and hobbyists, China’s internet giants began rolling out their own versions of the AI agent and integrations.
Tencent launched QClaw last week, a tool that integrates OpenClaw into WeChat’s vast ecosystem, China’s super app. Users can send a message directly to QClaw via WeChat, and the agent will immediately execute the task, Tencent said on its website.
TikTok owner ByteDance’s cloud unit, Volcano Engine, rolled out ArkClaw, a cloud-based version of OpenClaw accessible through a web browser. Alibaba also introduced JVS Claw, a mobile app designed to help users install and deploy OpenClaw more easily.
Xiaomi, a consumer electronics company, has launched a closed beta test of MiClaw, an AI agent that lets users control Xiaomi smartphones and smart home devices with single-sentence commands.
AI startups moved just as fast. Zhipu AI, Moonshot AI, and MiniMax have released large language models or frameworks built on top of OpenClaw. Shares of Zhipu AI and MiniMax surged 13 per cent and 22 per cent respectively last Tuesday, following the announcements of their OpenClaw tools.
It’s not just Chinese companies. Nvidia on Monday announced that it has created NemoClaw, an enterprise platform built on top of OpenClaw.
“It has a network guardrail, it has a privacy router, and as a result, we could protect and keep the claws from executing inside our company, and do it safely,” CEO Jensen Huang said during Nvidia’s 2026 GTC conference in San Jose on Monday.
“Every company in the world today needs to have an OpenClaw strategy, an agentic system strategy,” he added. “This is the new computer.”
OpenClaw has taken China by storm. The trending phrase “raising the lobster” went viral, as Chinese social media users used it to describe deploying the AI agent to automate everyday tasks.
People across China also rushed to install OpenClaw on their devices, forming queues outside Tencent’s Shenzhen headquarters and Baidu’s Beijing office to seek help from engineers. Others turned to online marketplaces, paying strangers to install the tool for them.
The frenzy has since been tempered by growing security concerns. In the past week, some users have begun removing the software — in some cases, even paying others to uninstall it.
Earlier in February, China’s National Vulnerability Database, run by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, warned that the open-source agent could introduce security risks if not properly configured. Misconfigured deployments could leave systems exposed to cyberattacks or data breaches, it said.
Last week, Chinese government agencies and state-owned firms moved to curb the use of OpenClaw on work devices.
Do you have a story to share about tech in China? Contact this reporter at cmlee@businessinsider.com.
