OpenClaw founder Peter Steinberger is joining OpenAI

Feb 16, 2026 05:56 AM - 4 months ago 132594

Terrence O'Brien

is the Verge’s play editor. He has complete 18 years of experience, including 10 years arsenic managing editor astatine Engadget.

Sam Altman announced connected X that Peter Steinberger, the man down the trendy AI agent OpenClaw, was joining OpenAI. He said that Steinberger has “a batch of astonishing ideas” astir getting AI agents to interact pinch each other, saying “the early is going to beryllium highly multi-agent.” He besides said that this expertise for agents to activity together will “quickly go halfway to our merchandise offerings.”

OpenClaw, antecedently known arsenic Moltbot and Clawdbot, exploded connected the segment earlier this twelvemonth and became the darling of the tech world. Its emergence was swift, but not without its bumps on the way. Earlier this month, researchers recovered complete 400 malicious skills uploaded to ClawHub. It besides launched MoltBook, a societal web wherever AI agents went to kick astir their humans, statement the provability of consciousness, and talk the request for a backstage spot to speech ideas. And past it was immediately infiltrated by humans.

In a post connected his individual site, Steinberger said that joining OpenAI would let him to execute his extremity of bringing AI agents to the masses, without the headaches of moving a company. He explained:

I could wholly spot really OpenClaw could go a immense company. And no, it’s not really breathtaking for me. I’m a builder astatine heart. I did the full creating-a-company crippled already, poured 13 years of my life into it and learned a lot. What I want is to alteration the world, not build a ample institution and teaming up pinch OpenAI is the fastest measurement to bring this to everyone.

For OpenAI, this is simply a high-profile prosecute aft several large names were poached by Meta aliases near to form a rival. It besides had a public falling-out pinch Elon Musk. Details of the woody aren’t public. It’s not clear really overmuch Steinberger is getting paid aliases what his title mightiness be. But Altman said that OpenClaw will proceed arsenic an open-source task successful a instauration supported by OpenAI.

Update February 15th: Added connection from Peter Steinberger’s blog.

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