The creator of OpenClaw is joining forces with the creator of ChatGPT, what will he do next
Peter Steinberger, the man behind OpenClaw, has joined OpenAI. This comes just days after the run of AI agents on OpenCloud went viral on the Moltbuk AI-only platform. Here are all the details.
In the past month, AI agents have become quite popular, courtesy of OpenClaw. Many users created their own personal AI agents, some of whom sought AI takeovers on Moltbuk. Now, it turns out that OpenClaw founder, Peter Steinberger, the man who made personal AI agents possible, has joined OpenAI.
At X, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that Steinberger is joining the AI startup to lead the development of personal agents.
OpenClaw, formerly known as Clawdbot and Moltbot, quickly became a favorite among users due to its ability to handle a variety of tasks. And now, it seems OpenAI wants Steinberger to use his know-how for the startup.
“He’s a brilliant guy who has a lot of amazing ideas about the future of very smart agents interacting with each other to do very useful things for people,” Altman said.
Personal agents will soon become the staple of OpenAI
Currently, OpenAI is best known for ChatGPT and its various AI models, such as GPT 5.2. The company has also recently launched its vibe coding app Codex. However, the Sam Altman-led firm still lagged behind when it came to offering the capability of individual agents, as did Peter Steinberger’s OpenClaw.
Now, Altman alleges that personal agents will become an important area for startups. He added, “We hope this will soon become a core part of our product offering.”
Why is Peter Steinberger joining OpenAI?
In a blog post, Steinberger explained that he did not want to build a big company, but simply wanted to make what he loved. He added, “What I want is to change the world, not just build a big company, and teaming up with OpenAI is the fastest way to make that happen for everyone.”
The OpenClaw founder also acknowledged that the people at OpenAI share the same vision when it comes to individual agents and the bigger picture. “The more I talked to people there, the more clear it became that we both shared the same vision,” he wrote.
What will happen to OpenCL?
The news of Steinberger’s move to OpenAI has set off alarm bells for OpenClaw users. But it looks like things can proceed normally at least for now. Altman has said that OpenClaw will serve as an open-source foundation, supported by OpenAI.
Sam Altman wrote, “The future is going to be extremely multi-agent and it’s important for us to support open source as part of that.”
Peter Steinberger stated that OpenClave would remain “open and free”.
Since its public introduction in November, OpenClaw has seen significant growth. According to Steinberger, OpenClaw has received over 100,000 stars on GitHub since its release. The project reached a peak of 2 million visitors in a single week.
