{"id":19448,"date":"2026-03-12T13:26:46","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T13:26:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/12\/the-download-china-openclaw-ai-craze-us-battery-industry-downturn\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T13:26:46","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T13:26:46","slug":"the-download-china-openclaw-ai-craze-us-battery-industry-downturn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/12\/the-download-china-openclaw-ai-craze-us-battery-industry-downturn\/","title":{"rendered":"The Download: Early adopters cash in on China\u2019s OpenClaw craze, and US batteries slump"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

This is today\u2019s edition of <\/em>The Download<\/em><\/a>, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what\u2019s going on in the world of technology.<\/em><\/p>\n

Hustlers are cashing in on China\u2019s\u00a0OpenClaw\u00a0AI craze<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h3>\n

In January, Beijing-based software engineer Feng Qingyang started tinkering with\u00a0OpenClaw, a new AI tool that can take over a device and autonomously complete tasks. Within weeks, he was advertising \u201cOpenClaw\u00a0installation support\u201d on a\u00a0second-hand\u00a0shopping site. Today, his side gig is a fully-fledged business with over 100 employees and 7,000 completed orders.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Feng is among a small cohort of savvy early adopters making serious cash from China\u2019s\u00a0OpenClaw\u00a0craze. As users with little technical background want in, a cottage industry of installation services and preconfigured hardware has sprung up. The rise of these tinkerers shows just how eager the\u00a0general public\u00a0in China is to adopt\u00a0cutting-edge\u00a0AI\u2014despite huge security risks.\u00a0Read the full story<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2014Caiwei\u00a0Chen<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Brutal times for the US battery industry<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h3>\n

Another battery business has fallen: 24M Technologies, once worth over $1 billion, is\u00a0reportedly shutting\u00a0down.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Just a few years ago, the industry was hot, hot, hot. Countless companies were popping up, with shiny new chemistries and huge funding rounds. But now, the tide has turned. Businesses are failing, investors are pulling back, and batteries, especially for EVs,\u00a0aren\u2019t\u00a0looking so hot anymore.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are bright spots. China\u2019s battery industry is thriving, and US stationary storage\u00a0remains\u00a0resilient. But it feels as if everyone is short on money these days, and as purse strings tighten,\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0less interest in novel ideas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This\u00a0<\/strong>story<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is from The Spark, our weekly climate newsletter.\u00a0<\/strong>Sign up<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2014Casey Crownhart<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

The must-reads\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve\u00a0combed the internet to find you today\u2019s most fun\/important\/scary\/fascinating stories about technology.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

1 Iran has put US tech giants on a list of potential targets<\/strong>\u00a0
The companies include Google, Microsoft, Palantir, IBM, Nvidia, and Oracle. (Al Jazeera<\/a>)\u00a0\u00a0
+ Pro-Iran hackers have launched their first major strike on a US firm during the war.\u00a0<\/em>(CNN<\/a>)\u00a0
+ AI is warping\u00a0perceptions\u00a0of the conflict.<\/em>\u00a0(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)\u00a0\u00a0
\u00a0
2 Grammarly is being sued for turning real people into AI-generated experts<\/strong>\u00a0
A journalist has filed a lawsuit over her inclusion as a writing analyst. (Wired<\/a>\u00a0$)\u00a0
+ Grammarly has now disabled the \u2018Expert Review\u2019 feature. <\/em>(Engadget<\/a>)\u00a0\u00a0
+\u00a0Here\u2019s\u00a0what\u2019s\u00a0next for AI copyright lawsuits.\u00a0<\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)\u00a0
\u00a0
3 Professors are losing the fight to protect critical thinking from AI<\/strong>\u00a0
They describe the tech as an \u201cexistential threat.\u201d(The Guardian<\/a>)\u00a0
+ Silicon Valley\u2019s dream of an AI classroom faces a\u00a0skeptical\u00a0reality.<\/em>\u00a0(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)\u00a0
\u00a0
4 Big tech is backing Anthropic in its fight against the Trump administration\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0
Google, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft are\u00a0publicly supporting\u00a0its legal action. (BBC<\/a>)\u00a0
+ Is this an Oppenheimer moment for Anthropic?\u00a0<\/em>(The Atlantic<\/a>\u00a0$)\u00a0<\/p>\n

5 A Cybertruck owner has sued Tesla over a self-driving crash\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0
He called the company \u201cnegligent\u201d for\u00a0retaining\u00a0Elon Musk as CEO. (Electrek<\/a>)\u00a0\u00a0
+ Tech has sparked a new wave of theft in the luxury car industry.\u00a0<\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)\u00a0
\u00a0
6 Is \u201cAI-washing\u201d providing cover for massive corporate layoffs?<\/strong>\u00a0
The tech\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0ready to replace workers, but the layoffs are happening anyway. (The Atlantic<\/a>)\u00a0\u00a0
+ Software giant Atlassian is slashing 10% of its workforce ahead of an AI push.<\/em>\u00a0(The Guardian<\/a>)\u00a0
+ At least lawyers\u2019 jobs look safer than first feared.\u00a0<\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)\u00a0
\u00a0
7 Software giants claim\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0not worried that AI will destroy them<\/strong>\u00a0
Oracle and Salesforce CEOs have dismissed fears of an \u201cSaaS-pocalypse.\u201d (Reuters<\/a>)\u00a0
\u00a0
8 Lab-grown brains have started solving engineering problems<\/strong>\u00a0
Scientists trained the organoid to decode an engineering task. (Popular Mechanics<\/a>)\u00a0
+ Other organoids are being impregnated with human embryos.<\/em>\u00a0(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)\u00a0
\u00a0
9 English-language music is losing its grip on Spotify<\/strong>\u00a0
The variety of languages in its top 50 songs has doubled since 2020. (BBC<\/a>)\u00a0
\u00a0
10 AI is redrawing the boundaries of physics<\/strong>\u00a0
It\u2019s\u00a0blurring the boundaries between a machine and a researcher. (The Economist<\/a>\u00a0$)\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Quote of the day\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cElon Musk is an aggressive and irresponsible salesman, who has a long history of making dangerous design choices and over-promising the features of his products.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u2014A\u00a0lawsuit<\/a>\u00a0over Tesla\u2019s Full Self-Driving mode takes aim at the company\u2019s CEO, Gizmodo<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n

One More Thing<\/strong><\/p>\n

This town\u2019s mining battle reveals the contentious path to a cleaner future\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\"a<\/p>\n
ACKERMAN + GRUBER<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

In a tiny Minnesota town, an exploratory mining company called Talon plans to dig up as much as 725,000 metric tons of raw ore per year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It says the site will help power a greener future for the US by producing the nickel needed for EV batteries. But many local citizens\u00a0aren\u2019t\u00a0eager for major mining operations near their towns.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The tensions have created a test case for conflicts between local environmental concerns and global climate goals.\u00a0Read the full story<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2014James Temple<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

We can still have\u00a0nice things\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas?\u00a0<\/em>Drop me a line<\/em><\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n

+ Mario is finally getting a\u00a0LEGO minifigure<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0
+\u00a0This new social platform<\/a>\u00a0boldly aims to burst filter bubbles.\u00a0
+ NASA is backing\u00a0DSLR cameras<\/a>\u00a0by taking a trusty old Nikon D5 to the moon.\u00a0
+ This nuclear escalation simulator<\/a>\u00a0helped me learn to stop worrying and love the bomb.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is today\u2019s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[226],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19448\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}