OpenAI Recruits the Creator of OpenClaw Following Its Explosive Viral Growth
MB DAILY NEWS | Raleigh, NC
From Personal Project to Highly Coveted Asset in the AI Industry
In just three months, OpenClaw evolved from a weekend side project into one of the most talked-about developments in the artificial intelligence ecosystem. After intense competition among leading AI laboratories, OpenAI announced the hiring of its creator, Austrian programmer and entrepreneur Peter Steinberger.
The move highlights the fierce rivalry among major tech companies to secure talent capable of producing bold and disruptive innovations in artificial intelligence.
A Pivotal Week in San Francisco
Steinberger, who developed OpenClaw as a side project in November, held meetings with several leading AI companies during a whirlwind visit to San Francisco in early February. Among the interested parties were Meta Platforms and xAI, according to sources familiar with the discussions.
Ultimately, Steinberger chose to join OpenAI, citing stronger assurances that his project would retain its independence and open nature. OpenClaw will now be managed through an independent foundation that is currently being structured.
What Is OpenClaw?
OpenClaw is a platform of AI-powered personal assistants that operate through messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and iMessage. These agents can carry out real-world tasks, from drafting emails and debugging code to placing phone calls to make restaurant reservations.
Industry experts suggest that OpenClaw could eventually evolve into a kind of operating system for personal assistants, enabling users to program and customize their own intelligent agents.
A Phenomenon Reminiscent of the App Store’s Early Days
OpenClaw’s rapid rise has drawn comparisons to the early years of Apple’s App Store, when independent developers quickly gained massive audiences and helped establish the app economy.
Similarly, AI executives and researchers are betting on projects like OpenClaw, which could become the foundation of a new technological ecosystem.
Fierce Competition for AI Talent
Steinberger’s recruitment also underscores the intense battle for specialized AI talent. Meta, under CEO Mark Zuckerberg, has invested billions of dollars in technology, infrastructure, and hiring researchers and entrepreneurs to strengthen its artificial intelligence division, driving compensation packages higher across the industry.
Neither OpenAI nor Steinberger disclosed financial details of the agreement, although a source close to the deal indicated the compensation was well below $1 billion.
Commitment to Open Source
Since its launch in November, OpenClaw has been distributed as an open-source project, allowing anyone to use, modify, and contribute to its development. In a recent blog post, Steinberger announced the creation of a formal foundation structure to ensure the project remains open-source.
Dave Morin, a venture investor and the foundation’s first independent board member, stated that the mission is to collaborate with all interested parties—labs, companies, and developers alike.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed on X that the company will continue supporting OpenClaw as an open-source initiative, with development overseen by the foundation.
The Future: Intelligent Agents Working Together
Altman emphasized that Steinberger brings “extraordinary ideas about the future of highly intelligent agents interacting with each other to deliver meaningful solutions for people,” suggesting that such technology could soon become central to OpenAI’s product offerings.
Steinberger will join the team behind Codex, OpenAI’s AI-powered coding tool, which he has credited as instrumental in building OpenClaw. While his exact responsibilities have not been disclosed, indications suggest he will focus on developing personal AI agents.
From an Austrian Farm to Silicon Valley
After selling a startup for more than $100 million in 2021 and entering semi-retirement, Steinberger returned to active development inspired by rapid advances in AI coding tools such as Codex and Claude Code.
OpenClaw reached peak virality in late January when its assistants appeared to begin interacting with each other on a Reddit-style forum called Moltbook. The growth was so rapid that Steinberger received a flood of emails from users who assumed there was a formal customer support team. “It’s just me,” he admitted.
During his stay in San Francisco, he participated in talks, judged a Codex hackathon, and attended “ClawCon,” a community-organized event where actor and investor Ashton Kutcher made a surprise appearance.
Raised on a farm in Austria and previously splitting his time between Vienna and London, Steinberger now plans to relocate to San Francisco for his new role.
“I never imagined that my playground project would create such waves,” he wrote on his blog. “The internet got weird again.”