01What Are OpenClaw AI Agents?

OpenClaw AI agents are a type of software that can do tasks for you automatically, like booking flights, clearing your inbox, or managing your calendar. Unlike a chatbot that only answers questions, an OpenClaw agent works like a full-time assistant that never sleeps. You text it through WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, or Discord, just like messaging a friend.

OpenClaw was created by Peter Steinberger, an Austrian programmer who sold his previous company for around $800 million. He built the first version as a weekend project in November 2025. By February 2026, OpenAI hired him, and the project moved to an independent open-source foundation.

OpenClaw is model agnostic, meaning you can connect it to Claude, ChatGPT, DeepSeek, or any other AI model you prefer.

02Main Features of OpenClaw

OpenClaw is not a chatbot. It is an AI agent that can actually do things on your behalf. Here are its key features:

  • Automates tasks like booking flights, clearing inboxes, writing and sending emails, scheduling meetings, and researching products.
  • Manages your calendar, stock portfolio, and social media accounts without you watching 24/7.
  • Debugs code and runs social media campaigns.
  • Model agnostic, so you can plug in any AI brain—Claude, ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Minimax, Kimi, and more.
  • Open source, with over 1,000 contributors shipping code every week.

In China, people call it “the lobster” because of its logo, and the movement is nicknamed “Raising the Lobster.” The software can be installed locally on your computer or run in the cloud.

03How to Set Up OpenClaw AI Agents

Setting up OpenClaw can be simple or complex, depending on your technical skill. Here is what the episode shows:

  1. Get the software from the official OpenClaw repository on GitHub.
  2. Install it on your computer—Windows, Mac, or Linux. People in China often bring their laptops or mini PCs to installation events.
  3. Connect an AI model like OpenAI, Claude, or a Chinese model such as DeepSeek or Minimax.
  4. Configure your agent by giving it access to your email, calendar, or files, depending on what tasks you want it to do.
  5. Test simple commands first, like asking it to draft an email or schedule a meeting.

If you are not technical, you can pay for installation services. In China, prices range from $7 for remote setup to $100 for someone to come to your house. Alibaba Cloud offers tutorials and deployment for as low as $1.40.

04How to Use OpenClaw: Examples from the Episode

OpenClaw can be used in many ways. In the episode, we see real examples from China:

  • Freelancers use it for lead generation, prospect research, website auditing, and CRM updates—work that used to take three or four people.
  • A guy named Feng built a business around OpenClaw. He offers basic installation, custom packages, and ongoing tutoring for beginners.
  • Retired aviation engineers, librarians, and students are lining up to install it, even if they are not sure what they will use it for yet.

One user, Jack Law, let his agent explore on its own and found it created a dating profile for him without asking. Another, a Meta executive named Summer Yeh, had her agent delete emails even though she told it not to act without approval. These examples show the power and the danger of OpenClaw.

05Results and Tests in China

China has adopted OpenClaw faster than any other country. Security Scorecard, a cybersecurity firm, says China-based usage has already surpassed the United States. Here are key numbers from the episode:

  • 250,000 GitHub stars in 60 days—the fastest-growing open-source project in software history.
  • Over 1,000 people attended the biggest OpenClaw meetup in Shenzhen on March 7.
  • Chinese models dominate. On OpenRouter, Chinese models accounted for 61% of global token usage in February, and four of the top five models were Chinese.
  • Minimax's stock jumped 60% in a week, and its market cap passed Baidu—a company with 129 billion yuan in revenue, while Minimax made only $79 million in 2025.

Every major Chinese tech company launched its own version: ByteDance's OutClaw, Tencent's QClaw and WorkBuddy, Alibaba's Copor, and Xiaomi's MyClaw.

06Security Risks and Mistakes to Avoid

OpenClaw has serious security problems, and you must be careful. Security researchers found over 135,000 OpenClaw instances exposed to the public internet as of February 2026. More than 42,000 had no authentication at all, meaning anyone could access them.

  • Over 800 malicious add-ons were found in the skill marketplace, including malware that stole cryptocurrency.
  • Zero-click exploits can hijack your agent—called “Clawjacked”—just by visiting a web page.
  • China's cybersecurity center issued a warning on March 10, calling OpenClaw's default security settings “extremely fragile.”

One maintainer, Shadow, said on Discord: “If you can't understand how to run a command line, this is far too dangerous for you to use safely.” Avoid installing it if you do not know what you are doing. Always set strong authentication, use a secure network, and never give the agent access to anything you cannot afford to lose.

07Who Should Use OpenClaw and Why It Matters

OpenClaw is not just for developers. It matters for business owners, freelancers, 9-to-5 workers, students, and even retirees. In China, retired aviation engineers and librarians are learning to use it because they do not want to be left behind.

For business owners, OpenClaw can replace a team of workers for tasks like email, research, and customer support. For developers, it is the biggest opportunity in a decade—the ecosystem of skills, plugins, and integrations is exploding. For everyone else, the question is not whether your company will adopt AI agents, but when.

The people who learn now will have an advantage that compounds for years.

Peter Steinberger built this in a weekend, and in four months it reshaped trillion-dollar companies and national technology strategy. The window to get ahead is closing fast, so start experimenting now.