| Human Profile | |
| Name: | Peter Steinberger |
| Education: | HTL Braunau (Diploma), Electrical Engineering, Computer Science Technical University Vienna (BS), Computer and Information Sciences |
Overview
Peter Steinberger is an Austrian software developer best known as the founder of PSPDFKit, a leading PDF software development kit widely adopted across platforms, and as the creator of the popular open-source AI agent framework OpenClaw, which led to his role at OpenAI leading the development of personal AI agents.
Latest News (Feb 16, 2026): Peter Steinberger joined OpenAI to lead the development of next-generation personal agents following the viral success of his open-source assistant project, OpenClaw. As part of the move, OpenClaw will transition into an independent foundation supported by OpenAI while Peter Steinberger drives the company's efforts to scale autonomous agentic capabilities.
Early Life and Education
Peter Steinberger is a software developer from Austria. He grew up in rural Austria where his initial fascination with computers began. As a teenager, he demonstrated an early aptitude for software by reverse-engineering an anti-copy protection program for a game. He pursued his formal education at HTL Braunau and later attended the Technische Universität Wien (Vienna University of Technology). While at the university, he also taught iOS and Mac development.
Founding of PSPDFKit
Steinberger began his entrepreneurial career around 2011 with the creation of PSPDFKit. The venture started as a side project to address challenges with PDF handling on iOS. He developed the initial version while waiting for a U.S. work visa, and the project quickly gained commercial traction, earning more than the salaried job he was waiting for. This early success prompted him to return to Vienna and focus entirely on the company.
PSPDFKit was bootstrapped and grew to become a leading PDF software development kit (SDK) used across iOS, Android, and web platforms. The framework powered PDF viewing and editing on over a billion devices and was used by companies such as Apple, Dropbox, and IBM. After more than a decade of leading the company, Steinberger sold a majority stake to Insight Partners in a significant strategic investment in 2021 and stepped back from his full-time role.
Return to Programming and AI Exploration
Following his exit from PSPDFKit, Steinberger experienced a period of burnout and took a three-year hiatus from the tech industry. He returned to programming in early 2023 with a newfound interest in artificial intelligence. A pivotal moment occurred when he used an AI coding assistant, which sparked his exploration into building with AI. This led to a period of intense experimentation, during which he built numerous projects to develop his skills in the AI domain.
The OpenClaw Project
In late 2025, a personal project evolved into a groundbreaking AI agent framework. Initially created in about an hour and called Clawdbot, it was an open-source tool that allowed users to build and run autonomous AI assistants on their own hardware. The project went viral within the developer community, rapidly becoming one of the fastest-growing projects in GitHub’s history.
The framework, which connects to messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Discord, allows AI models to control applications and perform tasks on a user’s computer, shifting the paradigm from conversational AI to active, task-oriented agents. Following a trademark issue, the project was briefly renamed Moltbot before settling on its final name, OpenClaw. The project’s immense popularity also led to the creation of MoltBook, a social network where AI agents can interact.
Joining OpenAI
In February 2026, OpenAI announced that it had hired Peter Steinberger to lead its development of personal AI agents. The move was seen as a strategic focus on the future of AI as active partners that can execute tasks. Steinberger stated his motivation was to have a broader impact and make agents accessible to a wider audience, rather than building another large company.
As part of the agreement, OpenClaw remains an independent open-source project. It is set to be managed by a foundation with continued financial and resource support from OpenAI, ensuring its ongoing development and availability to the community.
*secretly waits for @badlogicgames 's i-told-you-so*
— Peter Steinberger 🦞 (@steipete) August 20, 2025