OpenAI hires OpenClaw creator Steinberger in AI agent push

OpenAI announced the hiring of Steinberger, creator of the OpenClaw AI framework, in San Francisco on May 15, 2025, as part of their strategic expansion into AI agent technology. The move comes amid growing competition in the artificial intelligence sector as companies race to develop more sophisticated autonomous AI systems. Steinberger, a renowned researcher in multi-agent systems and reinforcement learning, will lead a new division focused on creating AI agents capable of complex decision-making and autonomous task execution. OpenClaw, Steinberger's previous project, gained recognition for its innovative approach to collaborative AI agents, which the company hopes to leverage for developing next-generation AI assistants. 'We're thrilled to welcome someone with Steinberger's expertise to our team,' said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in a statement. 'His work on OpenClaw represents exactly the kind of innovation we need to advance our AI agent capabilities.' The hiring is part of OpenAI's broader initiative to develop AI systems that can understand context, make decisions, and perform tasks with minimal human intervention, potentially revolutionizing industries from customer service to healthcare.