“OpenClaw will live in a foundation as an open source project that OpenAI will continue to support,” OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman wrote in a post on X Sunday, adding that Steinberger is “joining OpenAI to drive the next generation of personal agents.”

Steinberger wrote in a separate post on his website Saturday that he will be joining OpenAI to be “part of the frontier of AI research and development, and continue building.”

“It’s always been important to me that OpenClaw stays open source and given the freedom to flourish,” Steinberger wrote. “Ultimately, I felt OpenAI was the best place to continue pushing on my vision and expand its reach.”

OpenClaw, previously called Clawdbot and Moltbot, has garnered a cult following since launching in November for its ability to operate autonomously, clearing users’ inboxes, making restaurant reservations and checking in for flights, among other tasks. Users can also connect the tool to messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Slack and direct the agent through those platforms.

“My next mission is to build an agent that even my mum can use,” Steinberger wrote. “That’ll need a much broader change, a lot more thought on how to do it safely, and access to the very latest models and research.”

This move comes amid growing security concerns around OpenClaw after a user reported the agent “went rogue” and spammed hundreds of messages after being given access to iMessage. Cybersecurity experts warn the tool is risky because it has access to private data, can communicate externally and is exposed to untrusted content — which one researcher called the AI “lethal trifecta.”