In the past month, OpenClaw, which can connect several hardware and software tools and learn from the data produced with much less human intervention than a chatbot, has captured the imaginations of many in China, from retirees looking for side income to AI firms hoping to generate new revenue streams.
After first appearing in November, the tool has become one of the fastest-growing projects in the history of GitHub, the world’s most widely adopted AI-powered developer platform.
The hype over the open-source, agent-controlling bot created by Austrian developer Peter Steinberger is the latest example of how a new technology could overhaul the world’s second-largest economy through unbridled consumer adoption.
“If DeepSeek marked a milestone for open-source large language models, then OpenClaw represents a similar turning point for open-source agents,” said Wei Sun, chief AI analyst at Counterpoint Research.
Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab CEO Jensen Huang this week said OpenClaw is “the next ChatGPT” and growing enthusiasm over the technology sent Chinese tech shares up by as much as 22% in recent weeks as companies rolled out a suite of products based on the agent.
OPENCLAW DRAWS CHILDREN AND RETIREES
Huang Rongsheng, chief architect at Baidu‘s smart device unit Xiaodu, said at an event on Tuesday that parent group chats for his daughter’s primary school class have become overwhelmed by OpenClaw discussions.
“My daughter came to me and asked: Dad, I see you raising a lobster every day,” he said. “Can I have one too?”
Bai Yiyun, another attendee at the Zhipu event, said she hopes to use the agent to start a side hustle during her retirement.
