Peter Steinberger, the Austrian developer behind the AI assistant OpenClaw, has joined OpenAI to lead the company's next-generation personal agent strategy. OpenClaw will transition to an independent foundation and remain open source rather than becoming a startup or getting absorbed into OpenAI's proprietary infrastructure.
OpenClaw launched under the name Clawdbot before rebranding to Moltbot and finally OpenClaw. The tool gained widespread attention with a core promise: an AI assistant that executes tasks rather than just discussing them. OpenClaw can manage calendars, book flights, and participate in a social network of other AI assistants.
The name changes tell their own story. According to TechCrunch, Anthropic threatened legal action over the Clawdbot name's similarity to Claude, forcing the first rebrand. The second change came simply because Steinberger preferred it.
The viral momentum created an overwhelming situation. In his announcement blog post, Steinberger noted that "the internet got weird again" and that he fielded countless investment pitches. But the attention also clarified his priorities.
Why OpenAI Instead of a Startup
Steinberger spent 13 years building and scaling a previous company, which gave him perspective on what he actually wanted to do next. In his blog post, he was direct: "Yes, I could totally see how OpenClaw could become a huge company. And no, it's not really exciting for me."
Steinberger framed his decision around speed of impact. "What I want is to change the world, not build a large company, and teaming up with OpenAI is the fastest way to bring this to everyone," he said in the announcement.
Sam Altman confirmed the hire on X, stating that Steinberger will "drive the next generation of personal agents" at OpenAI. The role positions him at the center of the company's agent strategy during a period when multiple labs are racing to build practical, autonomous AI systems.
OpenClaw Stays Open Source
The project isn't being absorbed into OpenAI's proprietary infrastructure. Instead, it's transitioning to a foundation structure that will keep it independent and open source.
Steinberger emphasized this commitment in his blog post: "It's always been important to me that OpenClaw stays open source and given the freedom to flourish." He noted that OpenAI has committed to sponsoring the project and that the foundation will serve as "a place for thinkers, hackers and people that want a way to own their data, with the goal of supporting even more models and companies."
This structure reflects a broader pattern in AI development: major labs backing open-source projects as ecosystem infrastructure rather than loss leaders. OpenAI's support signals confidence that an open agent framework benefits the entire industry, including OpenAI's own commercial products.
The Expanding Agent Ecosystem
On the same day as the OpenAI announcement, Moonshot AI's Kimi platform launched Kimi Claw, a native integration of OpenClaw that runs directly in browser tabs. The integration includes access to 5,000 community skills and 40GB of cloud storage, demonstrating how quickly OpenClaw is becoming infrastructure for other AI platforms.
Multiple companies building on top of OpenClaw suggests the project has become a standard that others want to integrate with, not just a standalone tool.
What This Means for Agent Development
Steinberger's move reflects a strategic bet about where personal AI agents get built. Rather than compete with OpenAI as a startup, he joins the company to shape its agent strategy from inside. OpenClaw remains independent, but Steinberger gains access to OpenAI's latest models, research, and computational resources.
For developers and teams building on OpenClaw, the foundation structure provides continuity. The project won't disappear into a corporate product roadmap. Instead, it becomes shared infrastructure that multiple companies, including OpenAI, can build upon.
The move also signals OpenAI's priorities. Personal agents that can execute real-world tasks represent the next frontier in AI capability. By bringing in Steinberger and supporting OpenClaw as open infrastructure, OpenAI is betting that the future of AI isn't just better models but better systems for deploying those models as autonomous agents.
The agent ecosystem is still forming. How OpenClaw evolves under foundation governance, and how OpenAI's agent strategy develops with Steinberger leading it, will shape what personal AI assistants look like for the next generation of users.
