Hello everyone, this is programmer Wan Feng actively working on various AI projects.
In March 2026, a seemingly absurd phenomenon triggered industry discussion: Tencent, Alibaba, Baidu, ByteDance, Huawei, 5 tech giants collectively "went off their beaten path," competing to launch AI programming plans targeting the lobster industry.
Some say it's hype, some say it's dimension reduction attack, some say it's a new paradigm for rural revitalization.
Today, I want to set aside emotions and talk about it with data and logic: Is major companies rushing into the lobster industry hype or real opportunity?
📊 First, Let's Look at a Group of Overlooked Data
Real Scale of Lobster Industry
| Metric | Value | YoY Growth |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 Total Output | 450 billion yuan | +18% |
| Practitioners | 10 million+ | +12% |
| Breeding Area | 28 million mu | +15% |
| Catering Stores | 450,000 | +22% |
| E-commerce Sales | 68 billion yuan | +35% |
Data source: China Aquatic Product Circulation and Processing Association
Conclusion: This is a 450 billion yuan huge market, and still growing rapidly.
AI Penetration Rate Comparison
| Industry | AI Penetration Rate | Lobster Industry |
|---|---|---|
| Finance | 67% | ❌ |
| Healthcare | 52% | ❌ |
| Retail | 45% | ❌ |
| Manufacturing | 38% | ❌ |
| Agriculture (overall) | 12% | ❌ |
| Lobster Industry | <5% | ⚠️ |
Conclusion: Lobster industry's AI penetration rate is less than 5%, which means 95% of the market is still blank.
🎯 Major Companies' Real Intentions
Surface: Rural Revitalization and Agricultural Support
Official statements are consistent:
- "Respond to national rural revitalization strategy"
- "Empower traditional agriculture with technology"
- "Help farmers increase income"
These words are not wrong, but not the whole story.
Deep: 4 Strategic Considerations
1. Seeking New Growth Curves
The internet industry has entered stock competition:
- User growth hitting ceiling (internet penetration rate 75%)
- Advertising revenue slowing (2025 growth only 8%)
- Cloud service competition intensifying (price war continuing)
Lobster industry 450 billion yuan market, even if capturing only 5%, that's a 22.5 billion cake.
2. Polishing Vertical Scenario AI Capabilities
Lobster scenarios seem simple but actually cover core AI capabilities:
- Computer vision (freshness detection)
- Time series prediction (price fluctuations)
- Decision optimization (procurement strategy)
- Multi-modal understanding (image-text generation)
If you do lobster well, you can replicate to other agricultural products.
3. Seizing Policy Dividends
2026 Central Document No. 1 clearly proposes:
- "Accelerate AI application in agriculture"
- "Support tech companies participating in digital village construction"
- "Provide tax benefits and subsidies for AI+ agriculture projects"
Policy window period, major companies won't miss it.
4. Building Ecological Barriers
Once a major company's lobster solution becomes industry standard:
- Farmers depend on its technology
- Distributors use its platform
- Catering stores connect to its system
After ecological barriers form, latecomers have a hard time catching up.
⚖️ Is It Just Hype? My Judgment
Has hype elements, but not all
Hype parts:
- Marketing propaganda is indeed exaggerated ("AI changes lobster industry")
- Some features are flashy but impractical (like "lobster NFT")
- Free quota limited, follow-up charging not transparent
Real parts:
- Technical investment is real money (each at least 10 million level)
- Real implementation cases exist (I've verified 5)
- Policy subsidies are real and available (up to 40%)
My Conclusion
Short-term (1-2 years): Some hype exists, some projects will fail
Medium-term (3-5 years): Those with real technology and understanding of scenarios will survive
Long-term (5+ years): AI+ agriculture will become an independent track, lobster is the first verification scenario
💰 Where Are Ordinary People's Opportunities?
1. Learning Dividend
Major companies launch Coding Plans, which means:
