OpenClaw creator joins OpenAI to develop personal AI agents

Peter Steinberger, the creator of the popular open-source AI agent OpenClaw, has joined OpenAI as of February 15, 2026, to focus on developing personal AI agents. With over 100,000 stars on GitHub and 2 million visitors in just one week, OpenClaw has made a significant impact in the AI automation space. Steinberger expressed that while OpenClaw had the potential to become a large company, his priority lies in making a meaningful change in the world, and collaborating with OpenAI is the most effective way to achieve widespread access to personal AI agents.

OpenClaw will transition into a foundation while remaining open source, benefiting from OpenAI's resources and support. This partnership is expected to enhance the agent workflow and developer tooling associated with personal AI agents, potentially leading to new API and SDK integrations. As the AI landscape evolves, the collaboration aims to streamline model updates and address rate limits, ensuring that users can effectively utilize these advanced technologies.