Lately, the term "raising lobsters" has become a huge trend, even making its way into the National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference sessions.

This "lobster" isn’t the crustacean—it’s OpenClaw.

Because its icon resembles a lobster, netizens have dubbed it “lobster,” and the process of training and deploying it is referred to as “raising lobsters.”

Long lines have formed outside Tencent Tower as people wait to install it, and major tech companies have been rolling out their own local versions of "lobster."

Multiple cities, including Shenzhen, Wuxi, and Hefei, have weighed in, issuing statements in strong support of “raising lobsters.”

But amid the excitement, the mood has shifted somewhat. Regulatory authorities have issued two consecutive warnings, noting that improper use poses security risks. Some have even begun uninstalling OpenClaw.

What signal does this send? For investors, how should they make rational strategic moves amid this craze?

01 OpenClaw Goes Viral: Heat Continues to Rise

Why has OpenClaw gone viral? The answer is simple: it transforms AI from being merely “talkative” to actually “getting things done.”

When users send commands, OpenClaw can automatically break down tasks, launch local tools, manage files, send emails, and update schedules.

This shift from conversation to execution is viewed by the industry as a milestone marking AI’s transition from “thinking” to “acting.”

The capital markets reacted most swiftly. On March 9 and 10, A-share stocks tied to the OpenClaw concept surged collectively: MiniMax’s stock price soared by 22.37%, while UCloud and Borui Data both hit the daily 20% price limit.

Behind the price surges of these concept stocks lies capital’s optimism regarding the AI Agent sector.

Several securities firms have released research reports stating that OpenClaw “ushered in a new paradigm for agents,” which is expected to drive demand for cloud tokens and accelerate the commercialization of the AI agent industry.

Tech giants have also moved swiftly in response. According to incomplete statistics, at least 13 companies have now launched their own “domestic versions” of OpenClaw and related solutions, covering various sectors including cloud services, social media, payments, and hardware.

Tencent’s WeCom has announced integration with OpenClaw, with QQ bots now live and WorkBuddy in open beta; ByteDance’s Volcano Engine has launched ArkClaw, offering a cloud-based SaaS version of OpenClaw that is ready to use out of the box; Alibaba has introduced HiClaw (Team Edition); Baidu Intelligent Cloud has launched one-click deployment; Xiaomi has launched Xiaomi Miclaw; and Huawei has introduced Xiaoyi Claw, based on the HarmonyOS system.

At its core, OpenClaw is a "command bus."

By transforming tools like WeChat, DingTalk, and Feishu into natural entry points for task assignment, major tech companies are rushing to integrate with OpenClaw to embed their own services into the bus and gain control over traffic distribution.

In some regions, "Longxia" has even been directly integrated into government service systems.

For example, Futian District in Shenzhen has deployed the "Government Lobster" AI agent to help reduce the workload and improve efficiency at the grassroots level. The leap in AI technology has once again propelled OPCs (one-person companies)—a new target for investment promotion—into the spotlight.

Recognizing the tax revenue and innovation dividends these super-entities offer, astute local governments have moved swiftly to put “Lobster” on the table during investment negotiations.

02 Seizing the AI Opportunity: Multiple Regions Jump into “Lobster Farming”

Shenzhen’s Longgang District moved the fastest, releasing a draft for public comment on March 7 and introducing the “10 Measures for Lobsters”: encouraging market-oriented, specialized platforms to launch “Lobster Service Zones” and provide free OpenClaw deployment services; offering subsidies of up to 2 million yuan for projects that contribute key code to mainstream international communities or develop and release skill packages related to competitive industries;annually selecting projects demonstrating deep application of OpenClaw and awarding a one-time grant of 30% of actual investment, up to 1 million yuan.

In plain terms: As long as you help promote, develop, or deeply utilize the OpenClaw technology framework, you’ll receive rent-free space or subsidies, with a maximum award of 2 million yuan. Wuxi High-Tech Zone has released 12 policy measures.

Local cloud platforms that provide free deployment and development toolkits will receive a full subsidy of up to 1 million yuan; OPC projects utilizing the district’s intelligent computing power platform will receive an annual subsidy of up to 300,000 yuan per company; projects that develop vertical large models—such as for industrial quality inspection and predictive equipment maintenance—based on OpenClaw and pass national filing will be rewarded with 500,000 yuan; breakthroughs in key technologies like embodied intelligent robots and intelligent quality inspection will receive up to 5 million yuan in support.

In plain English: As long as you run projects using local computing power or develop industrial-grade AI large models, we’ll cover the costs; breakthroughs in key technologies can earn up to 5 million yuan in rewards.

Suzhou’s Changshu District has rolled out 13 measures that not only provide free training on how to use the technology and free access to government data but also offer cash rewards to platforms and entrepreneurs who excel at community operations, with subsidies of up to 3 million yuan.

Hefei High-Tech Zone has released 15 measures, deploying a comprehensive strategy combining space, talent, computing power, application scenarios, and capital.

From purchasing computing power and data to startup launch, they cover the full range of R&D expenses, with top talent receiving up to 10 million yuan in direct startup funding.

These regions are racing against the clock to secure their place in the second half of the AI era, attempting to create fertile ground for attracting top-tier talent through a combination of “financial incentives, resource allocation, and lowered barriers to entry.”

It is important to note that for Xiaolongshu to function effectively, it requires extensive authorization; the higher the level of authorization, the greater the likelihood of cybersecurity issues arising.

03 Official Reminder: A Cool-Headed Approach to Investment Promotion Amid the Craze

On March 10, the National Internet Emergency Center pointed out that improper installation and use can lead to risks such as prompt injection, accidental operations, malicious plugins, and security vulnerabilities.

On the same day, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also issued a reminder stating that updates to the "Crayfish" AI agent do not guarantee the complete elimination of security risks.

This indicates that while the overall direction of AI Agents is sound, the fundamental security baseline must be strictly maintained.

For local investment promotion efforts, how can they avoid a fleeting fad amid the nationwide “lobster farming” craze and successfully attract “genuine lobster” one-person companies?

The key lies in these shifts: First, moving from prioritizing large enterprises while neglecting small ones to “balancing both large and small.”

This does not mean neglecting large enterprises, but rather incorporating super-individuals into the investment promotion landscape. In the past, investment promotion efforts were accustomed to focusing on large enterprises and benchmarking against major projects, while overlooking small individual businesses.

Today’s investment promotion is about attracting talent—bringing in external expertise, and even “attracting individual entrepreneurs.”

In the AI era, a "super individual" who possesses core algorithms or creative barriers may have greater commercial potential than 10 traditional small and medium-sized enterprises combined.

Large enterprises, driven by capital, are prone to relocation, whereas “super-individuals” are mobile “micro-economies” that are likely to stay, grow, and create more jobs.

Second, the shift from attracting businesses to nurturing businesses.

Previously, investment promotion was like “picking low-hanging fruit”—waiting for companies to invest; now it’s about “planting trees”—cultivating an ecosystem ourselves. What do these “super individuals” need?

Not land, not factory buildings, not production lines—but computing power support, traffic support, entrepreneurial platforms, policy support, and room for growth.

For local governments, infrastructure must also be upgraded from the “Five Connections and One Leveling” to the “New Three Connections and One Leveling.”

For example: Do we have low-latency, cost-effective inference computing pools? Have we established regulated data compliance spaces to provide “food” for these intelligent entities? Are pre-deployed acceleration images of mainstream open-source models from home and abroad available? Can we offer a fair and transparent mechanism for opening government and industrial application scenarios?

Once the infrastructure is in place, super-individuals will naturally flock to the area. Today’s competition for investment is a competition of ecosystems; whoever can provide better entrepreneurial soil for super-individuals will attract the talent.

Third, shifting from a management perspective to a service perspective.

Previously, local governments often adopted a “management perspective” toward enterprises, requiring them to comply with plans and cooperate with arrangements. Now, faced with highly flexible one-person companies, we must switch to a “service perspective”—providing exactly what enterprises need.

For example, in the market entry phase, we can implement "one-stop online services" and streamlined registration to enable rapid business establishment; at the digital and intelligent level, we can open up public computing resources and issue AI support vouchers to reduce innovation costs; we can provide guidance on algorithm filing and data security while implementing flexible regulation; and we can open up application scenarios and build industry matchmaking platforms.

After all, when it comes to investment and site selection, businesses often “vote with their feet.” They go where the services and ecosystem are best.

The “cyber shrimp farming” craze sparked by OpenClaw is, at its core, a leap forward in production tools.

Moving from dialogue to execution marks a crucial step in the transition from tool to partner.

In this transformation, opportunities and risks coexist, and fervor intertwines with rationality.

For investment promoters, the most important thing is to maintain strategic resolve: do not chase trends, but clearly discern where the wind is blowing; do not blindly follow the crowd, but make rational strategic moves based on safety and compliance.

The wind has risen; the clouds are gathering.

Whoever first deciphers the trends behind OpenClaw and takes the lead in integrating computing power with real-world scenarios will gain a competitive edge in regional competition in the AI era.