Forget the Mac Mini: Run This OpenClaw Alternative for Just $10
Sipeed's PicoClaw brings an OpenClaw-like experience to tiny hardware platforms costing as little as $10.
In the tech world, it seems like you can’t avoid hearing about OpenClaw lately. People rave about how it finally makes AI useful and how simple it is to use. It is so popular that one of the most commonly used hardware platforms for an OpenClaw install — the Mac mini — is getting to be hard to come by. These little machines are selling like hot cakes.
A Mac mini is not cheap, however. Not everyone wants to spend that kind of money on an AI assistant. Fortunately, you may be able to get a similar experience without shelling out that kind of cash. Sipeed has just released PicoClaw, an ultra-lightweight personal AI assistant that was built to run on microcontrollers using 99% less memory than OpenClaw.
Instead of requiring gigabytes of RAM, PicoClaw operates in under 10MB. That dramatic reduction means the software can run on devices that cost as little as ten dollars, from tiny RISC-V development boards to compact embedded Linux systems.
PicoClaw was written in the Go programming language through a self-bootstrapping process in which the AI agent itself helped design and optimize its own architecture, with humans supervising and refining the output. According to the developers, roughly 95% of the core system was generated by the agent. The result is a single portable binary that runs across ARM, x86, and RISC-V platforms and can start in about one second, even on a slow single-core processor.
Despite the tiny footprint, PicoClaw aims to function as a full assistant. It supports planning, logging, web searches, and automation workflows, and can even integrate with chat platforms like Telegram or Discord. Users configure it with API keys for whichever language model provider they prefer, then interact with it directly from the command line or through messaging apps.
Installation is straightforward: download the binary, initialize the workspace, add a configuration file, and start chatting. Optional features such as web search and voice transcription can be enabled through external services, but they are not required for basic use.
The source code has been released on GitHub under an MIT license for anyone who would like to try PicoClaw.