Nvidia chief backs OpenClaw as AI agent frenzy grips China

Wednesday 18 March 2026 - 13:50

An open source artificial intelligence agent known as OpenClaw has sparked rapid adoption across China, drawing strong interest from users, tech companies, and regulators within weeks of gaining traction.

The tool, created by Austrian programmer Peter Steinberger and released on GitHub in November, goes beyond traditional chatbots by autonomously performing tasks such as booking flights, managing emails, and organizing schedules. In China, where new technologies often scale quickly, the software has gained widespread popularity, with users referring to the trend as “raising the lobster,” a reference to OpenClaw’s red lobster logo.

Technology companies have moved quickly to capture demand. Tencent set up outdoor support stations at its Shenzhen headquarters, assisting nearly 1,000 walk-in users in a single day. Baidu engineers provided similar installation support at its Beijing office. On platforms such as Douyin and Xiaohongshu, paid installation services have emerged, charging between 500 and 1,000 yuan.

Major cloud providers including Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud, ByteDance’s Volcano Engine, JD.com, and Baidu have launched integrations or versions based on OpenClaw. Artificial intelligence startups MiniMax and Zhipu have also introduced frameworks built on the platform, intensifying competition in the emerging AI agent market.

The rapid spread has triggered security concerns. According to Bloomberg, government agencies and state-owned enterprises, including major banks, have warned employees against installing OpenClaw on work devices. Some workers have been prohibited from using it on personal phones connected to corporate networks. China’s national cybersecurity response team said the tool’s requirement for high-level system permissions could expose systems to exploitation.

Security risks have already been reported. Misconfigured installations have exposed stored bank card data in Chrome browsers, leading to unauthorized transactions. In one case, a Shenzhen-based developer lost an API key through a malicious plugin, resulting in fraudulent charges totaling 12,000 yuan within three days. Authorities warned that poorly managed deployments could create significant vulnerabilities.

Despite these risks, market enthusiasm has intensified following comments by Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang. Speaking at the company’s GTC conference on March 17, Huang described OpenClaw as “the next ChatGPT” and urged companies to develop strategies around it. His endorsement drove gains in shares of AI-related firms, including Hong Kong-listed MiniMax and Zhipu, as well as Shanghai-listed UCloud Technology. Analysts said the statement reinforced expectations that the AI agent trend is still in its early stages.