OpenAI hired OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger this week to lead development of personal AI agents, bringing one of the most viral open-source AI projects into its fold while keeping the technology independent.
Steinberger, an Austrian software developer, built what started as Clawdbot in November 2025 before it was renamed to Moltbot and finally OpenClaw. The tool gained rapid popularity for its ability to autonomously complete real-world tasks like managing calendars, booking flights, and operating across third-party services without constant human guidance.
"We expect this will quickly become core to our product offerings," Altman wrote in his announcement.
He confirmed OpenClaw will continue as an open-source project within a foundation that OpenAI will support financially and technically.
The decision represents a shift for both parties. Steinberger revealed that maintaining OpenClaw was costing him $10,000-20,000 monthly, creating financial pressure as user growth accelerated.
Multiple major AI labs reportedly made offers to acquire or partner with the project before OpenAI secured Steinberger's commitment.
"What I want is to change the world, not build a large company," Steinberger wrote on his personal website. "Teaming up with OpenAI is the fastest way to bring this to everyone."
He described his mission as building an agent that even his mother could use safely and effectively.
OpenClaw captured attention through social media demonstrations showing users setting up dedicated devices running multiple AI assistants that communicated with each other via WhatsApp or Telegram. Some users created pseudo-social networks where AI agents posted content and engaged autonomously while others used the system for business automation tasks.
Security researchers raised concerns about how early versions stored sensitive information like API keys and server access details in plain text, potentially allowing attackers to take control of users' machines. These issues contributed to Steinberger's decision that working within a larger organization with more resources would enable safer development.
The hire comes as competition intensifies in agentic AI systems capable of executing complex workflows without human intervention. Anthropic recently introduced Claude Opus 4 while Google and Meta have been investing billions in similar technologies.
Chinese search engine Baidu plans to give users direct access to OpenClaw through its main smartphone app according to CNBC reporting.
OpenAI faces pressure to expand beyond its subscription-based ChatGPT model as only a small percentage of its nearly 1 billion users pay for premium services. The company began testing advertisements in ChatGPT earlier this year while seeking new revenue streams to balance hundreds of billions in spending commitments.
In May 2025, OpenAI acquired iPhone designer Jony Ive's AI devices startup io for $6.5 billion signaling its broader ambitions in hardware integration. The company was most recently valued at $500 billion according to financial reports from earlier this year.
Steinberger spent last week meeting with major AI labs in San Francisco including discussions about unreleased research before finalizing his decision. He emphasized that OpenClaw will remain "open and independent" within its new foundation structure while benefiting from OpenAI's resources and research access.
"The future is going to be extremely multi-agent," Altman stated regarding the strategic importance of personal assistant systems.
