Sam Altman says OpenClaw creator joins OpenAI as project stays open-source. Photos: X.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, announced Sunday that the developer behind the fast-rising AI agent OpenClaw will be joining the company, with the project set to continue as an open-source initiative backed by OpenAI.
Altman said the service “will live in a foundation as an open source project that OpenAI will continue to support,” signaling both institutional backing and a commitment to openness for the technology.
Originally launched last month under earlier names Clawdbot and Moltbot, OpenClaw was created by Austrian software developer Peter Steinberger. The tool has quickly gained traction, fueled in part by social media attention and growing demand from both consumers and businesses for AI systems capable of autonomously completing tasks, making decisions, and taking actions with minimal human supervision.
In a post on X, Altman confirmed Steinberger’s new role, writing that he is “joining OpenAI to drive the next generation of personal agents.”
“He is a genius with a lot of amazing ideas about the future of very smart agents interacting with each other to do very useful things for people,” Altman wrote. “We expect this will quickly become core to our product offerings.”
OpenClaw has spread quickly in China, where it can be integrated with locally developed language models such as those from DeepSeek. Through customized configurations, the agent can also be connected to Chinese messaging platforms.
Chinese search giant Baidu plans to provide users of its main smartphone application with direct access to OpenClaw, according to reports.
However, some researchers have raised concerns about the system’s openness, warning that allowing users to extensively modify the agent could introduce cybersecurity risks.
Steinberger is an iOS developer from Austria who studied at Technische Universität Wien and HTL Braunau. Unlike many startup founders who relocate to Silicon Valley, he remained in Austria and launched PSPDFKit in 2010, a tool designed to simplify working with PDFs on iPhones and iPads.
The product quietly gained significant adoption, with major companies including Dropbox using it. Over 13 years, Steinberger expanded the business into a stable B2B company employing around 70 people. In 2021, he exited the company in a deal reportedly worth about €100 million before transitioning into an advisory role.
Following his departure from PSPDFKit, Steinberger experienced a period of uncertainty that many founders encounter after achieving major success.
Most were experimental efforts aimed at sharpening his AI skills. Some failed, others gained traction. One ultimately evolved into the project that became Clawdbot, OpenClaw, and Moltbook, the technology that has now brought him to OpenAI.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
Delegates heading to the AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam are being urged to…
Stranger Things star Maya Hawke married musician Christian Lee Hutson on February 14, 2026, at…
JEE Main 2026 Session 1 Result: Final Answer Keys Out, Download PDF Link Here
The National Testing Agency (NTA) has released the final answer key for JEE (Main) 2026…
