OpenAI Acquires OpenClaw as Sam Altman Confirms Peter Steinberger to Lead Personal Agents Initiative

OpenAI Acquires OpenClaw as Sam Altman Confirms Peter Steinberger to Lead Personal Agents Initiative

In a significant development in the artificial intelligence landscape, OpenAI has confirmed the acquisition of OpenClaw, a pioneering startup specializing in personalized AI assistants. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, announced the move via a public statement, revealing that Peter Steinberger, founder and former CEO of OpenClaw, will lead OpenAI’s newly formed personal agents division. As part of the transaction, OpenClaw will transition into an independent open-source foundation, with OpenAI committing ongoing technical and financial support to ensure its continued development and community adoption.

The acquisition marks a pivotal step in OpenAI’s strategy to move beyond general-purpose large language models and into the realm of persistent, context-aware personal agents—AI systems designed to act on behalf of users across applications, calendars, communications, and workflows. According to Techmeme, citing sources from The Information, OpenAI had been in advanced talks with Steinberger and several key OpenClaw team members prior to the official announcement, signaling a deliberate and well-planned integration rather than a last-minute hire.

Steinberger, a respected figure in the AI engineering community, built OpenClaw as a boutique research lab focused on creating AI agents that learn user preferences over time and operate autonomously across digital environments. Unlike traditional chatbots, OpenClaw’s technology emphasized long-term memory, goal-driven behavior, and seamless integration with third-party APIs—a vision that aligns closely with OpenAI’s emerging roadmap for AI companions and digital co-pilots.

The decision to open-source OpenClaw’s core framework under a new foundation is a calculated move to foster broader innovation while allowing OpenAI to retain proprietary enhancements. This dual-track approach mirrors strategies employed by other AI leaders such as Meta with Llama and Google with TensorFlow. By releasing the foundational architecture as open-source, OpenAI invites external developers to build complementary tools, plugins, and use cases, accelerating ecosystem growth. Meanwhile, OpenAI will focus on refining and commercializing advanced versions tailored for enterprise and consumer products.

Industry analysts suggest the acquisition signals OpenAI’s urgency to catch up with competitors like Anthropic’s Claude Agents and Google’s Gemini Live, both of which have begun rolling out personalized agent features. With personal agents projected to become the next major interface for human-AI interaction, OpenAI’s move secures not only talent but also a proven technical stack that could serve as the backbone of its future product suite.

OpenAI has not disclosed financial terms of the acquisition, but insiders indicate the deal included equity compensation for Steinberger and his core team, as well as a multi-year funding commitment to the OpenClaw Foundation. The foundation’s governance structure is expected to be overseen by a board including representatives from OpenAI, academic institutions, and independent AI ethicists to ensure transparency and public interest.

For developers and researchers, the open-sourcing of OpenClaw’s codebase presents an unprecedented opportunity to contribute to the next evolution of AI autonomy. OpenAI has pledged to provide documentation, API access, and developer grants to support the transition, with a public repository expected to launch within the next 60 days.

As the AI industry shifts from reactive models to proactive agents, OpenAI’s acquisition of OpenClaw and its strategic open-source pivot may well define the architecture of personal AI for the next decade. Steinberger’s leadership, combined with OpenAI’s scale and resources, positions the company at the forefront of this transformation.