Peter Steinberger, the Austrian developer behind the viral open-source AI agent OpenClaw, has officially joined OpenAI to help shape the future of personal AI assistants.

OpenClaw, originally launched in late 2025 under names like Clawdbot and Moltbot, gained rapid popularity for its ability to automate tasks — such as managing email, scheduling, booking travel, and interacting with apps like WhatsApp and Telegram — using autonomous AI agents.

Announcing the move on X (formerly Twitter), OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said Steinberger will “drive the next generation of personal agents,” and that this work is expected to become central to OpenAI’s product direction. Meanwhile, OpenClaw itself will continue as an open-source project under a dedicated foundation with OpenAI’s support, keeping its code freely available to the community.

Steinberger explained his decision by saying he is more motivated by making a broad impact on the world than building a large standalone company, and that joining OpenAI gives him access to extensive resources and research to push his vision further.

This development highlights the growing emphasis in the AI industry on “agentic” systems — AIs that can do things autonomously for users, rather than just respond to questions — and marks a notable expansion of OpenAI’s strategy in that space. #OpenClawFounderJoinsOpenAI