Nvidia Embraces Red-Hot Agentic AI Tool OpenClaw

OpenClaw has the AI world clinched in its pincers, as technophiles from Boise to Beijing try to “raise a lobster.” 

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told CNBC this week that OpenClaw is “the next ChatGPT” after the chip-maker launched a new product that layers on top of OpenClaw’s personal assistant. The agentic AI platform racked up more than 250,000 stars (similar to bookmarks) on GitHub, where coders share projects, in about four months. That’s more than Linux, the open-source operating system that’s essentially the backbone of the internet.

Making a Big Splash

OpenClaw went viral within months of its initial launch as users scooped up Mac Minis en masse to run the open-source tech 24/7. FYI: OpenClaw used to be called Clawdbot before it changed its name after receiving a nudge from Anthropic. 

OpenClaw differs from Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s ChatGPT because it doesn’t run its own AI model. Instead, it taps various AI models, including Claude and ChatGPT, to perform tasks locally. OpenClaw can read and respond to messages on WhatsApp or Gmail, compile research from across the web, manage calendars or shop for groceries online. 

The catch: these tasks require giving the AI agent access to sensitive communications (texts, emails) and credit cards. The two big cracks in the AI tool’s shell are its iffy security and not-so-user-friendly setup and training.

Companies are stepping in with their own solutions, though:

• Nvidia this week unveiled NemoClaw, a product meant to act as a secure layer on top of OpenClaw that could appeal to enterprise users who otherwise can’t afford the security risks. 
• Chinese companies want to address the difficult setup of OpenClaw, with Tencent launching a 17-city tour to help users install the tool. Beijing’s biggies are also coming out with simplified OpenClaw copycats: ByteDance launched ArkClaw, Tencent released QClaw and Alibaba debuted CoPaw. 

Rising Tide: Though OpenClaw is free, it can’t do much if users don’t pay for the AI models it interacts with. OpenClaw users connect the personal assistant to their other AI accounts, accounts that cost more to use more. Basically, one lobster in the water lifts all the AI boats.