Sam Altman hires OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger to build next‑gen personal agents

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that Peter Steinberger, creator of the viral AI agent OpenClaw, has joined OpenAI to lead development of next‑generation personal AI agents; Altman said OpenClaw will continue as an open‑source project supported by OpenAI.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that Peter Steinberger, creator of the viral AI agent OpenClaw, has joined OpenAI to lead work on next‑generation personal AI agents. Altman made the announcement on X and said OpenClaw will live on as an open‑source project supported by OpenAI. OpenClaw briefly appeared under the names Moltbot and Clawdbot before wider attention, and it has been linked to the agent‑only social network Moltbook. Steinberger, who previously founded the PDF company PSPDFKit, launched OpenClaw in late 2025 after coming out of retirement. Key details: - Sam Altman said on X that Peter Steinberger is joining OpenAI to drive the next generation of personal agents. - OpenClaw will be maintained as an open‑source project with support from OpenAI, according to Altman. - OpenClaw powered the agent‑focused social network Moltbook and had earlier brief names Moltbot and Clawdbot. - Peter Steinberger founded PSPDFKit and launched OpenClaw in late 2025 after coming out of retirement. - The reporting notes that OpenClaw has spread quickly, including use with Chinese language models and planned integration with a major Chinese app, and that no terms of the hire were disclosed. Summary: Altman framed the hire as part of OpenAI's focus on multi‑agent systems and said such agents are expected to become core to its product offerings. Undetermined at this time.