Zuckerberg Personally Tested OpenClaw Before Trying to Poach Its Creator
Mark Zuckerberg downloaded and used the viral AI agent himself before making a hiring offer. He lost to Sam Altman anyway.
Before Mark Zuckerberg tried to hire OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger, he did something unusual for a CEO worth over 200 billion dollars. He downloaded the software and tested it himself.
According to Business Insider, Zuckerberg personally evaluated OpenClaw and gave Steinberger direct feedback before Meta made its offer. Both Meta and OpenAI reportedly made bids in the billions to bring the Austrian developer on board.
The fact that the CEO of one of the largest companies in the world is personally testing open-source AI tools tells you something about where the industry is headed. The agent layer, the software that lets AI actually take actions and complete tasks, is becoming the most valuable piece of the AI stack. More valuable than the models themselves.
LangChain, one of the biggest AI development frameworks, reportedly told its own employees they couldn't install OpenClaw on company laptops due to security concerns. The tool gives AI systems deep access to your computer, email, browser, and files. That level of access is what makes it powerful and what makes some companies nervous.
Steinberger ultimately chose OpenAI, where he'll lead the development of personal agents. The open-source OpenClaw project will continue to live inside a foundation at OpenAI.
As reported by Business Insider.
Source: Business Insider
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