Tencent Holdings has integrated its QClaw AI agent as a mini-program in its flagship WeChat app as it pushes to expand adoption of its OpenClaw-based tool after an upgrade allowing users to transfer files to their personal computers. QClaw was launched as an OpenClaw-based artificial intelligence agent for personal computers that users could control remotely from WeChat on their smartphones. Following an upgrade to the initial text-only version, users would soon be able to send commands from smartphones to PCs via audio messages and images through the mini-program. In the future, it would also include functions such as the ability to set automated timed tasks, the company said. The new version, still in beta testing mode, would be made accessible to more users than the initial version, Tencent said.
The QClaw upgrade is part of Tencent’s efforts to make it easier to deploy and use the AI agent directly within WeChat, a super app with over 1.4 billion monthly active users, as Chinese tech companies race to capitalize on the country’s “lobster fever”. OpenClaw, which was released late last year, is an AI agent that can perform tasks on a computer, including coding, managing files and booking tickets. But it can also access deep system permissions, making it both a highly coveted artificial intelligence tool and a potential data and privacy challenge that has sparked regulatory concern in China. It has been met with greater enthusiasm in China than in other markets, according to analysts, who attributed the difference to China’s large base of developers, high levels of consumer and corporate interest in jumping on the agent bandwagon, and relatively low costs.
Alibaba Group Holding also launched its OpenClaw app JVS Claw, allowing users without a coding background to deploy OpenClaw. The company has released a comprehensive guide for integrating OpenClaw with DingTalk, its enterprise communication platform. TikTok owner ByteDance has launched an OpenClaw plug-in on its office tool Feishu, where users can employ it to read and send messages, manage calendars and handle other tasks directly within the platform.
Tencent Holdings pledged to double its investment in artificial intelligence products and models in 2026, as it gains greater confidence in the technology’s capability to drive future growth across its businesses. The Shenzhen-based company dedicated CNY18 billion to the development of new AI products in 2025, including CNY7 billion in the fourth quarter alone, said Tencent President Martin Lau at a media briefing. “We will at least double the amount of investment this year,” Lau said. He cited the “complete protection” of user privacy as one of the challenges facing WeChat agents, for which there was currently no specific timeline for release. Tencent reported a 17% jump in net income to CNY64.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025. Total sales reached CNY194.4 billion for the quarter, a year-on-year increase of 13%, the South China Morning Post reports.
