As TENCENT's market value rebounds above HK$5 trillion, speculation grows about its ambitions in the AI sector. Following rumors about a WeChat AI agent, Chairman and CEO Pony Ma revealed that a series of new "lobster" themed products are on the way.

If last year's AI spotlight belonged to DeepSeek, this year appears to be dominated by OpenClaw. The sudden popularity of OpenClaw has ignited fierce competition among major tech companies, shifting focus from large language models to AI agent applications. TENCENT, often perceived as cautious in AI development, has taken an early lead this time.

On March 11, TENCENT's stock price reached a high of HK$578 per share during afternoon trading, pushing the company's market value back above the HK$5 trillion threshold. This surge followed market rumors on March 10 that TENCENT is secretly developing a WeChat AI agent that would connect millions of mini-programs within the platform, covering services ranging from ride-hailing to food delivery.

During the current "lobster fever," TENCENT's WeChat AI agent appears functionally similar to OpenClaw. This has led market observers to wonder whether TENCENT is preparing a major breakthrough through its super-app WeChat, potentially using AI to completely reshape how users interact with millions of mini-programs.

In last quarter's earnings call, TENCENT President Martin Lau mentioned plans to integrate more Yuanbao functions into WeChat. However, he noted that WeChat's integration with AI remains at an early stage, with many features still requiring testing.

As a national-level application, every move WeChat makes carries significant consequences. Earlier this year, WeChat's restriction of红包 sharing for AI applications like Yuanbao demonstrated the platform's careful balancing act between ecosystem openness and security.

Following the recent rumors, Pony Ma shared an article titled "TENCENT's Full Lineup of Lobster Products Arrives, Available for Individual Use" on March 12, commenting: "Self-developed lobster, local lobster, cloud lobster, enterprise lobster, cloud desktop lobster, secure isolated lobster rooms, cloud security, knowledge base... more products are coming soon."

TENCENT has been actively participating in the current "lobster farming" competition among tech giants. On March 6, TENCENT Cloud dispatched dozens of engineers to help users install OpenClaw on computers, attracting nearly a thousand people queuing to "raise lobsters." A TENCENT employee remarked: "Nobody expected it to be this popular." Even Pony Ma expressed surprise at the overwhelming response.

Subsequently, TENCENT rapidly released multiple lobster-themed products including the deployment-free WorkBuddy, intelligent agent development platform ADP, and the internal testing of TENCENT QClaw, forming the initial framework of a comprehensive product matrix.

Previously, TENCENT had often been criticized in AI circles for making more noise than substantial progress. While Alibaba's Tongyi Qianwen achieved full commercial ecosystem coverage and ByteDance's Doubao penetrated daily life scenarios, TENCENT's earlier attempt "Yuanbao" remained largely confined to the WeChat platform. In an internal speech earlier this year, Pony Ma emphasized that moving "slowly" was a strategic choice based on the company's specific circumstances.

The breakthrough sparked by the "lobster" trend has not only ignited stock prices but also demonstrated that the market values technological innovation in AI far more than mere subsidy-driven marketing. Despite major tech companies spending heavily on marketing during the Spring Festival, their stock performances remained sluggish. In contrast, the technology-driven "lobster farming" trend has helped drive a market rebound.

However, behind the excitement, OpenClaw cannot yet be considered a mature and stable tool. Some users have already begun uninstalling the application, citing complaints about poor usability, high error rates, expensive pricing, and security concerns.

For TENCENT, which has regained its HK$5 trillion market valuation, addressing these fundamental product experience issues while maintaining rapid development will be crucial for sustaining the current positive momentum.