The OpenClaw craze is rapidly driving up prices and depleting stock of Apple’s Mac Mini compact computer across China, according to local sellers, as consumers scramble to secure machines capable of safely running the open-source artificial intelligence agent amid a nationwide rush to “raise a lobster”.
Beijing electronics seller Frank Chai said he was asking for a mark-up of at least 500 yuan (US$73) for a basic Mac Mini model, which comes with 16 gigabytes (GB) of memory and 256GB storage and normally sells for 4,499 yuan.
Chai, who runs a private shop in Beijing’s Zhongguancun area, said on Friday that he had a few units available. Meanwhile, the wait time for the same model at the official Apple Store had expanded to at least a month.
The Mac Mini’s sudden surge in popularity comes amid a national obsession for OpenClaw, an autonomous AI tool. The Apple device, with its affordable price and robust performance, has emerged as an ideal dedicated machine for running OpenClaw and other AI agents, allowing users to leverage its capabilities while minimising security and privacy risks.
Among the most affordable personal computers from the US tech company, the Mac Mini was also selling out rapidly in Shenzhen’s Huaqiangbei, home to the world’s largest electronics wholesale market, according to a Friday report by state-owned Securities Times.
Many vendors had run out of stock, while the few who still had units were charging mark-ups of several hundred yuan, the report said.
Running OpenClaw – a trend dubbed “raising a lobster” in reference to the tool’s marketing mascot – was best done on a dedicated computer due to the software’s design, according to industry experts.
