TECH

Xiaomi, Huawei Rush to Deploy AI Agents Amid OpenClaw Craze

Published: Mar. 12, 2026 4:48 p.m. GMT+8

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Open-source AI agent OpenCloaw has taken off in China. Photo: VCG

Chinese smartphone makers Xiaomi Corp., Honor Device Co. Ltd. and Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. are scrambling to integrate system-level artificial intelligence (AI) agents into their devices, capitalizing on a viral domestic craze for the open-source AI agent OpenClaw.

Xiaomi on March 6 began limited testing of Xiaomi miclaw, which founder Lei Jun described on social media as a “mobile lobster,” a reference to OpenClaw. Xiaomi’s miclaw system integrates more than 50 functions, including reading and sending messages, managing calendar events, searching the internet, launching apps and accessing files.

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Chinese smartphone makers Xiaomi, Honor, and Huawei are rapidly integrating AI agents into devices, inspired by the open-source OpenClaw framework's popularity.
Xiaomi, Honor, and Huawei have launched or tested AI assistants with various productivity features, though all products remain experimental.
The AI agent trend faces high operational costs and security concerns, making mass consumer adoption unlikely; the market may remain niche.

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Who’s Who

Xiaomi Corp.: Xiaomi Corp. is actively integrating system-level AI agents into its devices. They launched limited testing of "Xiaomi miclaw" on March 6, an AI assistant capable of over 50 functions, including managing schedules and accessing files. This experimental product runs on Xiaomi’s MiMo large language model. They caution that it's still in optimization stages and targeting tech enthusiasts.

Honor Device Co. Ltd.: Honor Device Co. Ltd. (荣耀终端有限公司) has launched "Honor Lobster Universe," a platform designed to support AI agents across PCs, tablets, and smartphones. Users can interact with this system through Honor's voice assistant, YOYO. This initiative is part of a broader trend among Chinese smartphone makers to integrate system-level AI agents into their devices, capitalizing on the popularity of the open-source AI agent OpenClaw.

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.: Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is integrating system-level AI agents into its devices. Huawei Consumer Business Group CEO He Gang introduced "Xiaoyi Claw," an AI assistant that coordinates across devices for tasks like editing documents and replying to emails. This feature is currently undergoing limited internal testing.

ByteDance: ByteDance previously attempted to integrate system-level AI agents into smartphones. In December, they launched an AI-powered phone with handset maker Nubia, utilizing their Doubao large language model. This AI could perform complex operations but faced resistance from major Chinese apps like WeChat due to security concerns.

Nubia: Nubia worked with ByteDance to launch an AI-powered phone in December. This device, utilizing ByteDance's Doubao large language model, showcased AI performing complex operations like price comparisons, workplace software requests, and restaurant bookings.

Tencent Holdings Ltd.: Tencent Holdings Ltd. joined the "lobster craze" by setting up a booth outside its Shenzhen headquarters. Their Tencent Cloud engineers offered to help users install the OpenClaw AI agent on cloud servers for free. Nearly 1,000 developers and AI enthusiasts attended the event.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has joined the "lobster" craze, organizing livestream tutorials and developer events across the country. These events aim to demonstrate how to deploy the OpenClaw system, an open-source AI agent framework that has rapidly gained popularity in China's developer community.

Baidu Inc.: Baidu Inc. is one of the Chinese tech giants that quickly joined the "lobster" craze, organizing livestream tutorials and developer events across the country. These events demonstrated how to deploy the OpenClaw system, an open-source AI agent framework that has rapidly spread within China's developer community.

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What Happened When

December 2025：: ByteDance launched an AI-powered phone based on its Doubao large language model, developed with handset maker Nubia.

Two days after December 2025 launch：: ByteDance removed the feature that allowed the AI assistant to operate within WeChat.

Early March 2026：: OpenClaw technology became a nationwide trend in China after breaking out of developer circles.

March 6, 2026：: Xiaomi began limited testing of Xiaomi miclaw, integrating more than 50 functions.

March 6, 2026：: Outside Tencent Shenzhen headquarters, Tencent Cloud engineers set up a booth to help users install OpenClaw on cloud servers free of charge.

March 10, 2026：: Honor announced the launch of the 'Honor Lobster Universe' platform to support AI agents across devices.

March 11, 2026：: Huawei Consumer Business Group CEO He Gang introduced Xiaoyi Claw, an AI assistant currently undergoing limited internal testing.

AI generated, for reference only