OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Personally Recruits Austrian AI Developer Peter Steinberger
Peter Steinberger, the Austrian developer behind the viral AI agent platform OpenClaw, is making a high-profile move to San Francisco after being personally recruited by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. His departure from Europe comes with pointed criticism of the continent's tech environment.
"In Europe, I Get Insulted": Steinberger's Blunt Assessment
In a candid post on X, Steinberger explained his decision to cross the Atlantic. "In the USA, most people are enthusiastic," he wrote. "In Europe, I get insulted, people scream REGULATION and RESPONSIBILITY." He detailed how building a company in Europe involves wrestling with:
- Investment protection laws
- Employee co-determination rules
- What he called "paralyzing labor regulations"
Steinberger noted that at OpenAI, most employees work six to seven days weekly with appropriate compensation, while such practices are largely illegal across much of Europe.
Why Europe Continues Losing Top Tech Talent to Silicon Valley
Steinberger, who previously split his time between London and Vienna, isn't the first European founder to voice these concerns, but few have been this blunt while departing. His timing is particularly notable as OpenClaw recently went viral for enabling AI agents to autonomously manage calendars, book flights, and populate Moltbook—a social platform built exclusively for AI bots.
Altman publicly praised Steinberger on X, calling him "a genius" and stating he would help build "the next generation of personal agents" at OpenAI. Altman described this space as one that will "quickly" become core to what the company offers.
OpenClaw Transitions to Foundation as Creator Pursues Bigger Ambitions
Rather than monetizing OpenClaw or folding it into OpenAI, Steinberger is transitioning the platform into a foundation to maintain its open-source status. His stated goal extends beyond building a startup: he aims to create an AI agent that, as he described, "even my mum can use."
Europe's Persistent Innovation Gap with the United States
Europe's struggles in retaining tech talent aren't new. A 2024 EU report highlighted the region's widening innovation gap with the US, but by the end of 2025, little had changed. Steinberger had initially hoped EU INC—a push for a unified corporate framework across the bloc—might help address these challenges.
He now says the initiative is "fizzling out," undermined by what he calls "egoistic national interest." This departure represents another significant loss for Europe's tech ecosystem as one of its promising developers joins one of America's leading AI companies.
