Peter Steinberger, the creator of OpenClaw, highlighted the growing adoption of AI agents in China, specifically referencing a phenomenon known as “raising lobsters” where thousands queued at Tencent’s office in Shenzhen to have OpenClaw installed. Shenzhen further incentivizes this trend by offering subsidies for businesses that utilize OpenClaw, despite ongoing national security concerns. The use of OpenClaw has become so ingrained in workplace culture that employees risk dismissal for both failing to automate tasks and for employing the technology, illustrating the pressure for productivity through automation in the region.

OpenClaw: OpenClaw is an open-source personal AI assistant that runs locally on user devices, integrating with chat apps like WhatsApp and Telegram to autonomously handle tasks such as email management, calendar updates, and multistep workflows. Its creator Peter Steinberger recently highlighted in a TED talk the project’s rapid embrace in China, where Shenzhen offers subsidies for business applications and installation is culturally dubbed ‘raising lobsters’.
Peter Steinberger: Peter Steinberger is an agentic AI builder and the founder of OpenClaw, a viral open-source AI agent platform, who now works at OpenAI to develop agent-first products. In his April 2026 TED talk, he recounted experiences in China showing OpenClaw’s integration into daily business operations, including employee mandates for task automation.

`json
{
“Tencent Role”: “Tencent hosts installation events for OpenClaw in Shenzhen.”,
“China Incentives”: “Shenzhen provides subsidies for businesses leveraging OpenClaw.”,
“Cultural Adoption”: “OpenClaw is known as ‘raising lobsters’ in China, reflecting its cultural impact.”
}
`