OpenClaw, an open-source personal AI agent project, announced that its non-profit foundation, OpenClaw Foundation (a US 501(c)(3)), is now officially operational; initial partners include OpenAI, NVIDIA, Microsoft, the University of Michigan, GitHub, Cloudflare, Vercel, and Tencent.
OpenAI as Major Donor, Establishes Claw Labs Internally
According to the official statement from OpenClaw Foundation, OpenAI is the main donor; OpenAI supports reasoning capabilities, released Codex Security to enhance platform security, and established Claw Labs—an internal team led by Peter Steinberger at OpenAI dedicated to joint product improvements.
OpenAI commits to continuing support for the foundation to manage OpenClaw in an open and independent manner. Since joining OpenAI earlier this year, Peter Steinberger has been working to maintain OpenClaw as an open and independent project.
NVIDIA Launches NemoClaw, Jensen Huang Says "Every Company Needs an OpenClaw Strategy"
According to the OpenClaw Foundation, NVIDIA announced NemoClaw at GTC, which can be installed with a single command, including the open Nemotron model and OpenShell runtime, allowing anyone to run private, always-on Claw on their own hardware.
Jensen Huang stated at GTC: "Today, every company in the world needs to develop an OpenClaw strategy." Microsoft announced Microsoft Scout at Build, positioned as an always-on, autonomous, independently identified "claw" that executes operations on behalf of users, marking the first product of what Satya Nadella calls "enterprise-grade OpenClaw." Microsoft is also contributing enterprise security efforts upstream to ensure OpenClaw can operate securely on all Windows systems.
Initial Partners' Roles and Responsibilities
According to the official statement from OpenClaw Foundation, the specific contributions of each initial partner are as follows:
OpenAI: Major donor, Codex Security, Claw Labs internal team, committed to open and independent operation.
NVIDIA: Released NemoClaw at GTC (Nemotron model + OpenShell runtime).
Microsoft: Released Microsoft Scout at Build, contributing enterprise security work.
University of Michigan: Largest donor, established the Institute for Agentic Computing.
Tencent: Full-time personnel responsible for security, stability, and ClawHub, establishing direct vulnerability synchronization channels.
GitHub, Cloudflare, Vercel: Infrastructure support, ensuring rapid, secure, and stable release of OpenClaw.
Atlassian: Deployment, auditability, identity boundaries, and key management.
OpenClaw Becomes the Fastest-Growing Repository in GitHub History
According to official information from OpenClaw Foundation, OpenClaw is currently the fastest-growing code repository in GitHub history, adding 4.5 million Claw per week. Six months ago, it was just a Discord server and weekend project created by Peter Steinberger at his home in Austria.
The ClawCon community events have held 34 sessions across 16 countries within five months—from San Francisco to São Paulo, Tokyo to Dublin—with nearly 30,000 registrations. ClawHub is now one of the largest online communities sharing agent skills.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the purpose of establishing the OpenClaw Foundation?
According to the official statement, the foundation is a US 501(c)(3) non-profit organization aimed at protecting the OpenClaw project, ensuring it remains under the MIT license, open, and independent. The foundation functions similarly to the neutral governance models of Linux, Apache, and Mozilla, overseeing governance, funding, community, and long-term maintenance.
What is Tencent’s specific role within the OpenClaw Foundation?
According to the official statement, Tencent primarily assigns full-time personnel responsible for security, stability, and ClawHub, establishing direct vulnerability synchronization channels with internal security teams. They also support deployment, auditability, identity boundaries, and key management.
What role does Peter Steinberger play after the foundation’s establishment?
According to the official statement, Peter Steinberger continues to be responsible for the project direction of OpenClaw, especially technical decision-making. Since joining OpenAI earlier this year, he also leads the Claw Labs team within OpenAI, focusing on joint product improvements.
