OpenAI hires 'genius' OpenClaw creator, but popular AI assistant will remain open source — Sam Altman says creator will work on 'smart agents' in new role

Peter Steinberger, creator of OpenClaw, has joined OpenAI to work on developing smart agents, while OpenClaw will continue to be maintained as open source. Steinberger's AI assistant tool gained popularity for allowing users to create personal assistants and integrate them with various apps. Despite the success of OpenClaw, security concerns have been raised due to potential vulnerabilities. OpenAI's hiring of Steinberger is seen as a move to enhance its agentic AI offerings, though some question if it's a bid to stay relevant in the face of competition like Google's Gemini AI.