At WAIC 2026 in Shanghai, we sat down with Vincent Koc @vincent_koc , Chief Architect of the OpenClaw Foundation, to revisit the open-source AI agent framework that took the global AI community by storm, drove Mac minis to sell out in China, and triggered intense debate over AI safety, security, and control. Vincent reveals what happened after the viral frenzy and the so-called “uninstall wave”: OpenClaw’s weekly NPM downloads actually climbed from 2.5 million to a record 4.2 million. Behind that growth are two very different forces—Chinese companies pushing employees to adopt AI agents through automation-driven KPIs, and Western users quietly bringing agent tools into the workplace from the bottom up. Our conversation also explores what happened after OpenClaw founder Peter Steinberger joined OpenAI. Rather than being absorbed into a single company, OpenClaw moved into an independent nonprofit foundation intended to preserve the project’s open-source identity. Peter continues to provide technical stewardship, while the Foundation has taken on the work of keeping the project alive. In the post-Claw era, the agent landscape is already being rewritten. The bigger question is: when will the "Aha moment" arrive for personal AI?

Chinese AI labs are catching up quickly, with recently released GLM-5.2 and Meituan releasing LongCat-2.0 (trained and run entirely on domestic chips). Recently, a group of U.S. AI researchers traveled to China to get a firsthand look at the country’s fast-moving AI ecosystem. During the trip, they visited AI labs and companies across Beijing, Hangzhou, and Shanghai, meeting with teams from Alibaba, Moonshot AI, Zhipu AI, Tsinghua University, Meituan, Xiaomi, Qwen, Ant Group, and Nathan Lambert @natolambert , a prominent AI researcher known for his work on RLHF and open-source AI, joined the trip. What did someone who has spent years at the front lines of America’s open-model movement see when he stepped inside China’s AI labs? How is the competition between the United States and China changing? And what does the next phase of the global AI race look like? In this episode of Silicon Valley 101, we flew to Seattle and sit down with Nathan to talk about what he learned in China — and where he believes the AI world is heading next. English version: Chinese subtitle version:

We flew to Seattle and filmed an interview with Nathan Lambert @natolambert , talking about his journey to China, where he visited many top Chinese AI labs and companies. Very interesting perspective from a U.S. AI researcher. Airing on Valley101 tomorrow. 🎙️

Interviewing Tim Cook by Valley101: Q: I know there is a regulation issue (of Apple AI in China & EU). How long will it take? A: I'm not sure, but we're working really hard on it and hope to be there just as soon as we can. China is a very important market for us. Q: You have a long-term good relationship with China and Apple fans there. Do you have anything to say (to them)? A: Well, I'm an old friend of China and the Chinese people, and I will keep coming. I will keep showing up.