OpenAI has hired OpenClaw founder Peter Steinberger to lead its development of personal AI agents, as CEO Sam Altman positions multi-agent systems at the core of the company’s next phase. OpenClaw will transition to a foundation-run open-source project with continued support from OpenAI. Observers have questioned whether the project can sustain its development pace after its founder’s departure to a major AI firm.
OpenAI has brought on OpenClaw founder Peter Steinberger to lead its push into personal AI agents. CEO Sam Altman announced the move, stating the effort will become core to the company’s products.
Altman said the company would move into a foundation structure with continued support from OpenAI. This reflects the company’s belief in an “extremely multi-agent” AI future.
Steinberger stated his goal is to change the world, not build a large company. He believes teaming up with OpenAI is the fastest way to bring this technology to everyone.
The confirmation follows Steinberger revealing he had received acquisition offers from Meta and OpenAI. He said he would only agree to a deal if OpenClaw remained open source.
The platform recently gained a trademark claim from Anthropic, which argued “Clawd” was too similar to “Claude.” Anthropic clarified it had no formal partnership with or endorsement of the project.
Dermot McGrath, co-founder at ZenGen Labs, called it a “smart move by OpenAI, though I’d argue Anthropic should have got there first.” He expressed concern about the project’s future focus after its founder leaves.
McGrath noted these projects live and die by a handful of dedicated full-time contributors. “Open source or not, these projects live and die by a handful of dedicated full-time contributors, and Steinberger is the father of OpenClaw,” he said.
The project has a growing ecosystem with community directories listing over 100 agent skills and extensions. It continues to ship updates, including a new beta release focused on security and bug fixes.
