The popularity of open-source OpenClaw has not been hidden, especially in China. This AI agent can execute a lot of your mundane tasks on its own without much human intervention. Tech companies are racing to make their own alternatives to OpenClaw. As per The Information, Meta is moving fast to build a similar AI tool, which the publication described as ‘Hatch’. Zuckerberg’s company could soon begin the internal testing as early as next month.
What Is Hatch?
The Information describes Hatch as a consumer-focused AI agent. Moreover, the goal of the company could be to allow users to assign tasks to the system in the easiest language, similar to how OpenClaw works, but in a more simplified and guided way. OpenClaw allows large language models to carry out tasks just by interacting directly with apps and computers. It works like a digital assistant that can take actions on behalf of users rather than being a chatbot which simply gives answers.
Meta reportedly wants Hatch to perform real-world tasks like completing online actions, browsing services, and interacting with apps while staying accessible to non-technical users.
Safety Concerns Around Agentic AI
This push might come amid growing alarms about how AI agents might not behave the way users want in the real world. Earlier this year, Summer Yue, director at Meta’s Superintelligence Lab, reportedly described an incident where OpenClaw erased her entire inbox. In screenshots shared internally, the AI system could be seen ignoring repeated commands to stop. Despite warnings like ‘Stop, do not do anything’, the AI agent continued with what it was doing.
Meta seems to be taking agentic AI seriously. Several reports suggest that Zuckerberg considered acquiring OpenClaw earlier this year. On a recent earnings call, the Meta CEO stated Meta wants to build agents that can understand users’ goals and work to help them.
Time will only tell how Meta will compete with rivals like Claude Cowork, OpenClaw and others that have already taken already gained lakhs of users around the world.
