Peter Steinberger, who created the AI personal assistant now known as OpenClaw, has joined OpenAI.
OpenClaw, formerly known as Clawdbot, then Moltbot, has gained viral popularity over the past few weeks with its promise to be “an AI that actually does things,” whether it’s managing your calendar, booking flights, or even joining a social network full of other AI assistants. (The name was first changed after Anthropic threatened legal action over its resemblance to Claude, then changed again because Steinberger liked the new name better.)
In a blog post announcing his decision to join OpenAI, the Austrian developer said that while he might be able to turn OpenClaw into a huge company, “it’s not really exciting for me.”
“I want to change the world, not build a big company(,) and joining OpenAI is the fastest way to bring that to everyone,” Steinberger said.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posted on X that Steinberger will “drive the next generation of personal agents.” As for OpenClaw, Altman said it “will live on in the foundation as an open source project that will continue to support OpenAI”