Overview
- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said Steinberger will drive the next generation of personal agents and that OpenClaw will continue in a foundation as an open-source project supported by OpenAI.
- Financial terms, Steinberger’s title, and other deal specifics were not disclosed.
- OpenClaw surged after its late-2025 debut, drawing more than 100,000 GitHub stars and 2 million visitors in a single week, according to Steinberger.
- The fast-growing project has drawn security scrutiny, including a warning from China’s industry ministry, reports of hundreds of malicious skills and package hijacks, and Gartner calling the code an unacceptable risk, according to multiple outlets.
- Steinberger previously said he received offers from Meta and OpenAI and would only proceed if OpenClaw stayed open source, a stance now reflected in the foundation structure.