OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger joined OpenAI, according to an X post by Sam Altman on February 15. But before that, Steinberger got feedback on his product from Mark Zuckerberg.
OpenClaw is an open-source AI agent that can autonomously handle tasks like managing email, booking flights, and interacting with apps and services on a user's behalf.
"Many people are calling this one of the biggest moments in the recent history of AI, since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022," Lex Fridman said about OpenClaw on the February 11 episode of his podcast, where he interviewed Steinberger.
Steinberger discussed acquisition offers from both OpenAI and Meta on the podcast, saying he also considered raising venture capital but ultimately ruled it out. "Been there, done that," he said of starting a company, adding that it would take time away from building and could create conflicts of interest between a commercial product and the open-source project.
Instead, he narrowed his choice to the two AI labs, which he said made very different pitches. He said OpenAI lured him with compute power and access to cutting-edge infrastructure, while Meta's approach was more personal — Zuckerberg spent a week using OpenClaw and sent detailed feedback.
"Mark basically played all week with my product and sent me like, 'Oh, this is great.' Or, 'This is shit. Oh, I need to change this.' Or, like, funny little anecdotes," Steinberger said of Zuckerberg, adding that he hopped on a WhatsApp call with the Meta CEO where they debated about Claude Code and Codex.
"And then I think afterwards he called me eccentric but brilliant," Steinberger said.
Just before the call, Zuckerberg said he was coding, Steinberger told Fridman on the podcast.
"He didn't drift away in just being a manager; he gets me," Steinberger said. "That was a good first start."
Steinberger said he appreciated Zuckerberg testing the product on Fridman's podcast.
"People using your stuff is kind of like the biggest compliment, and also shows me that they actually care about it," Steinberger said.
Steinberger acknowledged on the podcast that he was leaning toward one company but declined to say which. His choice, it seems, was OpenAI.
