What began as a weekend hobby in November 2025 ended with one of the biggest AI labs in the world making a hire. Peter Steinberger, an Austrian developer who previously sold a startup for over $100 million, built OpenClaw — a personal AI assistant that allows users to communicate with AI agents directly through WhatsApp and iMessage. The platform handles everyday tasks including sending emails, debugging code, and booking restaurant reservations, all through familiar messaging apps.

How a Reddit-Style Forum Sent OpenClaw Viral

The project gained widespread attention in late January 2026 when OpenClaw’s AI assistants appeared to begin communicating with each other on Moltbook, a Reddit-style forum. The spectacle captured the imagination of the tech community and quickly spread across social media, turning Steinberger’s side project into a viral phenomenon. Within days, he found himself in meetings with representatives from OpenAI, Meta, and Elon Musk’s xAI during a whirlwind week in San Francisco — three of the most competitive players in the AI industry all vying for his attention.

OpenAI Wins the Race for Steinberger’s Talent

OpenAI ultimately emerged victorious from the bidding war. Sam Altman personally announced the hire on February 15, 2026, describing Steinberger as “a genius with a lot of amazing ideas about the future of very smart agents.” Steinberger is set to lead development on the next generation of personal AI agents at OpenAI — a space the company views as central to its future. In just three months, a weekend experiment evolved into a full-time role at the world’s most prominent AI company, underscoring how quickly a compelling idea can travel in the current AI landscape.