Peter Steinberger is the creator of OpenClaw, the open-source AI assistant that rapidly became one of the most talked-about AI agent projects, before joining OpenAI to help shape the future of personal AI agents. In this a16z speedrun Fireside, Peter discusses how AI agents are changing software engineering, how he built and scaled OpenClaw, the challenges of its explosive growth, and what he’s learned about building products in the age of AI.
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Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
00:49 - Building Software With AI Agents
03:59 - How Peter Steinberger Uses AI Agents
05:41 - The Problem With AI-Generated Content
07:44 - Why Always Saying 'Yes' is an Issue
09:52 - Building OpenClaw as an Open-Source Project
12:52 - Why Open Source Matters More Now
14:01 - How OpenClaw Went Viral
18:54 - The Cost of OpenClaw’s Success
23:12 - Building Products You Actually Enjoy
24:54 - The Future of OpenClaw & Agentic Software
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