OpenClaw: The Chinese AI Shaking Up Markets and Challenging ChatGPT

OpenClaw: An Announcement That Shakes the Chinese Market

At the GTC 2026 conference, Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, highlighted the potential of artificial intelligence agents, particularly emphasizing OpenClaw, which he described as the "next ChatGPT." According to him, this technology could transform the use of artificial intelligence for both the general public and businesses.

OpenClaw is an open-source AI agent that is gaining popularity in China. Many local companies are beginning to integrate it into their solutions or develop their own versions based on this technology.

Immediate Impact on the Stock Market

Following Jensen Huang's announcement, shares of Chinese companies specializing in artificial intelligence saw a significant rise. While this movement is not entirely unexpected in this booming sector, it remains noteworthy.

Leading Companies in the Race

Among the companies that saw their shares soar, MiniMax and Zhipu, also known as Knowledge Atlas, recorded respective increases of 22% and 14% on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. These two companies are enhancing their offerings around AI agents and have recently launched tools related to OpenClaw.

These companies are part of the "new AI tigers" in China, a group of firms developing large language models with the ambition to compete with giants like OpenAI or Anthropic.

Zhipu and Its GLM-5 Model

Zhipu recently unveiled GLM-5, an open-source model designed for complex tasks, including programming. According to the company, its performance is comparable to that of Claude Opus 4.5 from Anthropic, and it could even surpass Google’s Gemini 3 Pro in certain tests, although these results have yet to be independently verified.

Momentum Benefiting Other Players

Other companies have also benefited from this momentum. SenseTime, which has refocused on AI software after its facial recognition activities, saw its shares rise by 2.43%. UCloud Technology, specializing in cloud services, recorded a 13% increase in Shanghai.

The trend has also affected other tech stocks in Asia. Jensen Huang mentioned potential chip orders that could reach $1 trillion by 2027. In this context, SK Hynix gained nearly 9%, and Samsung Electronics rose by more than 7%.

The Impact of Jensen Huang's Statements

Jensen Huang's statement had a significant impact as it comes from a central figure in the AI industry. Nvidia is at the heart of the global AI infrastructure, and its forecasts are seen as grounded in concrete data, such as orders and actual demand.

Investors do not view OpenClaw merely as a product, but as a growth scenario. This anticipation mechanism is classic: they position themselves before adoption becomes visible in financial results.

OpenClaw vs. ChatGPT: An Inevitable Comparison

The parallel with ChatGPT is crucial. In 2022, ChatGPT reached 1 million users in just 5 days, then 100 million in two months, setting an adoption record. In October 2025, TechCrunch reported that the chatbot surpassed 800 million weekly users, generating about 5.5 billion monthly visits.

OpenClaw, on the other hand, recorded approximately 27 million monthly visits in March 2026, nearly 200 times less than ChatGPT. However, its growth is impressive, with a monthly increase of over 900% and more than 247,000 stars on GitHub within a few weeks.

Untapped Potential

Unlike ChatGPT, OpenClaw is not a ready-to-use service. Its installation may require technical skills, and usage costs can exceed $1,500 per month for heavy users.

The difference between the two lies in their structure. ChatGPT attracts a broad audience due to its simplicity, while OpenClaw targets a developing market, that of autonomous agents integrated into systems. Its potential is undeniable, but its adoption depends on a technical ecosystem that is still maturing.