OpenClaw founder Peter Steinberger joins OpenAI for personal agents

Peter Steinberger, the founder of OpenClaw, has joined OpenAI to spearhead the development of next-generation personal agents, a move that highlights the growing importance of AI automation in everyday tasks. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman emphasized that these personal agents are set to become a core offering for the company, which is valued at $500 billion. OpenClaw, an open-source project that allows users to create personal AI agents, has quickly gained popularity since its launch in November 2025, amassing nearly 200,000 stars on GitHub.

The OpenClaw platform enables users to manage their workflows effectively by integrating with major communication apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Discord. This functionality allows the personal agents to assist with tasks such as clearing inboxes and managing calendars, showcasing the potential of developer tooling in enhancing user productivity. As Steinberger transitions to OpenAI, the future of OpenClaw may involve significant model updates and API integrations that could further streamline agent workflows and expand its capabilities.