OpenClaw founder accepts Bloomberg interview: The U.S. can learn from China's adoption of AI for crayfish.

The popular open-source AI agent tool OpenClaw’s founder Peter Steinberger recently pointed out in an interview with Bloomberg reporter Shirin Ghaffary that the acceptance of AI agents in the U.S. and China has formed a starkly contrasting corporate culture.
(Background: OpenClaw will establish the “Lobster Foundation” for independent operations! Nvidia and ByteDance confirm their participation.)
(Background Supplement: OpenAI announced the closure of the Sora App, and Disney’s $1 billion collaboration project has collapsed: a major failure in social platform positioning.)

Table of Contents

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• China has become the world’s largest AI agent testing ground
• America’s conservatism versus China’s leap
• Steinberger joins OpenAI: Codex is the next step
• OpenClaw Foundation: Playing the role of “Switzerland”

In China, students, office workers, and even the elderly are testing OpenClaw, with some companies even mandating its use among employees. Although Chinese authorities have begun to restrict state-owned enterprises and government agencies from using it, it is clear that China has become a massive experimental ground for AI systems to take over people’s digital lives.

In the United States, while OpenClaw has been warmly welcomed by developers and early adopters, it has yet to spark a comparable level of public enthusiasm. Due to security concerns over the potential for AI agents to “go rogue,” some American companies have begun to limit employee usage.

OpenClaw founder Peter Steinberger recently accepted an exclusive interview with Bloomberg reporter Shirin Ghaffary, where he discussed the current phenomenon he observes regarding the gap in AI agents between the U.S. and China. Ghaffary pointed out during the interview that this is not just a difference in adoption speed but rather a struggle between two entirely different corporate logics. Bloomberg reported this in the article titled “OpenClaw Founder Says the U.S. Can Learn from China’s AI Adoption.”

China has become the world’s largest AI agent testing ground

According to Bloomberg, the situation in China is almost like another planet. Students, workers, and the elderly are flocking to test OpenClaw; some Chinese companies not only encourage but mandate its use, with some displaying spreadsheets listing each employee’s name and a column for “what was automated today”: KPI management has extended into the AI agent era.

Data shows that usage in China is nearly double that of the U.S., with Baidu planning to integrate OpenClaw into its mobile search service, which has around 700 million users. Alibaba has launched “JVS Claw,” ByteDance has introduced “ArkClaw” on Volcano Engine, and Tencent Cloud is offering free installation plans in 17 cities.

Ironically, this wave has not reassured Beijing. Ghaffary mentioned in the article that Chinese authorities have restricted state-owned enterprises and government agencies from using OpenClaw, concerned about the data flow and security boundaries of open-source tools. A country that is both the most active promoter of AI agents and the most sensitive regulator.

America’s conservatism versus China’s leap

In contrast, the scene in the United States is entirely different. Developers and early adopters are highly enthusiastic, but the mainstream market’s excitement is far from China’s. Some American companies have even begun to limit employee use of OpenClaw under the pretext of security concerns.

This conservatism is not without reason. Steinberger told Bloomberg that he is deeply worried about a recent incident where a Meta security researcher was ridiculed: the researcher publicly pointed out the risks of misuse of agent tools but was met with mockery rather than seriousness.

Steinberger said: “If people are ridiculed, it will discourage others from speaking out.” He believes that the space for discussing AI agent security issues should not shrink due to fear of being laughed at.

Steinberger joins OpenAI: Codex is the next step

Currently, Steinberger officially joined OpenAI on February 15, 2026, leading the development of Codex agent technology. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman publicly referred to him as a “genius” and stated that he would drive the evolution of the next generation of personal AI agents.

Currently, Codex has over two million users weekly. Steinberger told Bloomberg that his vision is to gradually eliminate the boundary of “whether or not to code”: when AI agents can replace humans in writing and executing code, programming will no longer be the privilege of a few but a foundational skill that everyone can call upon.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang described OpenClaw as “the most important software release ever” at the Morgan Stanley TMT conference in early March, stating that “every company needs an OpenClaw strategy, just like they needed HTML and Linux strategies back in the day.”

OpenClaw Foundation: Playing the role of “Switzerland”

On the other hand, Steinberger is actively working on establishing the OpenClaw Foundation, which is expected to complete legal procedures in a few weeks. Nvidia has officially joined, ByteDance is also on board, and Tencent is set to follow; Steinberger also revealed that discussions have begun with Microsoft.

He told Bloomberg that he hopes the OpenClaw Foundation will play the role of “Switzerland”: maintaining a neutral, open stance that does not affiliate with any single camp in the larger context of U.S.-China tech rivalry, allowing open-source AI agent tools to become global shared infrastructure rather than pawns in geopolitical struggles.