Basic Information
| Field | Content |
|---|
| Product ID | 588 |
| Name | The Founding Story of OpenClaw - From Clawdbot to OpenClaw |
| Type | Project History / Brand Evolution |
Summary
OpenClaw grew from a weekend project into the fastest-growing open-source project in GitHub history, undergoing two name changes, a trademark dispute, and the founder joining a major tech company. This is one of the most dramatic founding stories in the history of open-source software.
Full Timeline
Phase 1: Origins (April 2025 - November 2025)
| Date | Event |
|---|
| April 2025 | Steinberger builds a Twitter analysis tool, discovers AI "paradigm shift" |
| 2025 | Develops Clawd—an AI virtual assistant, named after Anthropic's Claude |
| November 2025 | First release of the open-source project under the name "Clawdbot" |
Phase 2: Viral Spread (December 2025 - January 2026)
| Date | Event |
|---|
| Early January 2026 | The project begins to spread rapidly in the developer community |
| January 25-31, 2026 | Exposed instances grow from ~1,000 to 21,000+ |
| January 27, 2026 | Anthropic trademark complaint, renamed to "Moltbot" |
| January 29, 2026 | Matt Schlicht launches Moltbook (AI social network) |
| January 30, 2026 | Renamed again to "OpenClaw" (Moltbot "not catchy enough") |
Phase 3: Global Phenomenon (February 2026)
| Date | Event |
|---|
| February 2, 2026 | Hacker News front-page post, gains 60,000 Stars in 3 days |
| Early February 2026 | Surpasses 100,000 GitHub Stars |
| Early February 2026 | 2 million visitors in one week |
| February 14, 2026 | Steinberger announces joining OpenAI |
| February 15, 2026 | Massive media coverage by TechCrunch, CNBC, etc. |
| February 16, 2026 | Malicious skills reach 824, security crisis emerges |
Phase 4: Corporatization & Globalization (March 2026)
| Date | Event |
|---|
| March 2, 2026 | 247,000 Stars, surpassing React |
| March 2026 | 250,000+ Stars milestone |
| March 2026 | "Raising Lobsters" craze peaks in China |
| March 2026 | NVIDIA launches NemoClaw |
| March 2026 | Tencent integrates ClawBot with WeChat |
Naming Evolution
Clawd (original assistant)
↓ Open-source version
Clawdbot (November 2025)
↓ Anthropic trademark complaint
Moltbot (January 27, 2026, lasted only 3 days)
↓ "Not catchy enough"
OpenClaw (January 30, 2026 - present)
Chaos Behind the Renaming
- Fake Clawdbot tokens appeared on Solana during the renaming
- Reportedly reached an 8-figure market cap before crashing
- Impersonation accounts spread across social platforms
- Users warned to avoid unofficial repositories and extensions
Key Figures
| Person | Role |
|---|
| Peter Steinberger | Founder/Developer |
| Matt Schlicht | Founder of Moltbook |
| Sam Altman | CEO of OpenAI, invited Steinberger to join |
Key Insights
- Weekend Project Changes the World - From WhatsApp Relay to a global phenomenon in just months
- Naming is Branding - Chaos and opportunities coexisted through two name changes
- Growth Limits - From 0 to 250K Stars demonstrates the explosive power of AI
- Balancing Open Source and Business - Founder joins a major company while keeping the project open-source
Relationship with the OpenClaw Ecosystem
The founding story is at the core of OpenClaw's brand narrative. The arc from "weekend project" to "changing the world" injects a unique entrepreneurial spirit and sense of mission into the OpenClaw ecosystem.
Sources
External References
Learn more from these authoritative sources: