Peter Steinberger launched OpenClaw in November 2025, an open-source platform for creating and managing personal AI agents, which rapidly gained significant traction. The platform enables users to interact with these agents through common messaging applications like iMessage and WhatsApp, similar to engaging with a human assistant. What differentiates OpenClaw from earlier approaches is its capacity to allow agents to continuously work on complex tasks, moving beyond single-shot interactions, particularly when given access to a user's local computer files.