On Sunday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that Peter Steinberger, the Austrian developer behind the fast-rising AI agent OpenClaw, is joining OpenAI — and that OpenClaw itself will “live in a foundation as an open source project that OpenAI will continue to support.”
The move follows OpenClaw’s surge in popularity over the past month. Previously known as Clawdbot and Moltbot, the agent gained traction on social media as interest in autonomous AI systems intensified. Unlike traditional chatbots, OpenClaw is designed to complete tasks, make decisions, and take actions on behalf of users with limited human supervision — a category often described as “agentic AI.”
In a post on X, Altman said Steinberger would join OpenAI “to drive the next generation of personal agents,” calling him “a genius with a lot of amazing ideas about the future of very smart agents interacting with each other to do very useful things for people.” Altman added that agent capabilities are expected to “quickly become core” to OpenAI’s product offerings.
No financial terms were disclosed. But the hire comes amid an aggressive talent race across the AI industry. Meta and Google have also spent heavily to recruit AI researchers and developers, underscoring how competitive — and expensive — top-tier AI talent has become.
OpenAI, most recently valued at $500 billion, faces mounting pressure from rivals such as Google and Anthropic, particularly in enterprise applications where AI models are increasingly used to automate business workflows. Anthropic has gained attention with Claude Code and recently introduced Claude Opus 4.6, which it says improves coding performance and sustained task execution. The company closed a funding round earlier this week at a reported $380 billion valuation.
OpenClaw has gained significant traction in China, where users have connected it to homegrown models like DeepSeek and adapted it to work within popular local messaging platforms. Baidu intends to integrate the agent directly into its flagship mobile app, according to a company spokesperson — a sign that the project’s adoption is spreading well beyond Western audiences.
At the same time, some researchers have raised concerns about OpenClaw’s openness and the potential cyber risks of allowing users to modify the agent extensively. By placing the project within a foundation-backed open source structure, OpenAI appears to be signaling continued support while bringing its creator inside the company.
Taken together, the hire reflects two parallel shifts in the AI industry: the rapid rise of autonomous agents as a central product category, and the continued consolidation of top talent among a handful of well-capitalized players. For OpenAI, the message is clear — personal agents aren’t a side experiment. They’re becoming a core part of its competitive strategy.
This analysis is based on reporting from CNBC.
Image courtesy of Openclaw.
This article was generated with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy and quality.
