Peter Steinberger Joins OpenAI to Advance Personal AI Agents
Key Points
- Peter Steinberger, creator of OpenClaw, joins OpenAI.
- Steinberger prefers world‑changing impact over building a large company.
- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says Steinberger will lead the next generation of personal agents.
- OpenClaw will continue as an open‑source project supported by OpenAI.
- The transition reflects a trend of AI founders moving to larger platforms to scale their vision.
Peter Steinberger, the Austrian developer behind the viral AI personal assistant OpenClaw, has left his startup to join OpenAI. Steinberger said he prefers changing the world over building a large company, and sees OpenAI as the fastest path to broad impact. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that Steinberger will lead efforts on the next generation of personal agents, while OpenClaw will continue as an open‑source project supported by OpenAI.
Background
Peter Steinberger created an AI personal assistant that gained rapid popularity under several names, ultimately becoming known as OpenClaw. The assistant was promoted as an "AI that actually does things," handling tasks such as calendar management, flight booking, and interacting within a network of other AI assistants. The name changed after a legal threat from Anthropic over similarity to its Claude model, and later changed again because Steinberger preferred the new branding.
Decision to Join OpenAI
In a blog post announcing his move, Steinberger explained that while he could have turned OpenClaw into a large company, "It’s not really exciting for me." He added, "What I want is to change the world, not build a large company[,] and teaming up with OpenAI is the fastest way to bring this to everyone." This statement reflects his priority on broad impact rather than corporate growth.
OpenAI’s Role
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman responded on X, noting that Steinberger will "drive the next generation of personal agents." Altman also said that OpenClaw will "live in a foundation as an open source project that OpenAI will continue to support," ensuring the technology remains accessible to the community while benefiting from OpenAI’s resources.
Implications for the AI Landscape
The move positions OpenAI to deepen its work on personal AI agents, leveraging Steinberger’s experience in building a widely used assistant. By keeping OpenClaw open source, the collaboration aims to foster innovation and allow developers to build upon the existing platform. Steinberger’s shift underscores a broader trend of entrepreneurs joining larger AI firms to accelerate the deployment of their ideas at scale.