Peter Steinberger, the founder of the popular open-source project OpenClaw, is taking on a new role at OpenAI. The announcement was made by OpenAI’s CEO, who stated that Steinberger will be joining the company to lead the development of next-generation personal agents.
As part of this transition, the OpenClaw project itself will be moved into a foundation, ensuring it remains an open-source initiative. The CEO confirmed that OpenAI will continue to support the project in its new, independent structure.
OpenClaw, which has also been known by other names in the past, is an AI assistant capable of handling a wide array of tasks. Fans of the technology praise its ability to manage emails, interact with insurance companies, handle flight check-ins, and perform countless other automated jobs.
The tool has seen a meteoric rise in popularity since its debut last November. According to a recent blog post by its founder, the project garnered over 100,000 stars on the code repository GitHub and attracted an astonishing two million visitors in just one week.
This rapid growth has also drawn attention from regulators. A government industry ministry has warned that if the open-source AI agent is not configured correctly, it could present significant security risks, potentially leaving users vulnerable to cyberattacks and data breaches.
Reflecting on the move, Steinberger emphasized his commitment to keeping OpenClaw open source. “It’s always been important to me that OpenClaw stays open source and is given the freedom to flourish,” he wrote. “Ultimately, I felt OpenAI was the best place to continue pushing my vision and expand its reach.”
