Openclaw founder Peter Steinberger has declined multiple acquisition offers and potential funding rounds worth billions, emphasizing his commitment to keeping Openclaw open-source. In an interview with Lex Fridman, Steinberger expressed concerns that accepting such offers would lead to conflicts of interest, such as prioritizing enterprise versions or altering the open-source license, which could harm the community. He stated, "What I want is completely free and open-source, with no strings attached." Despite Openclaw currently operating at a loss, earning only $10,000 to $20,000 monthly, Steinberger remains dedicated to subsidizing dependent projects. He highlighted the importance of maintaining an open-source model, akin to Chrome and Chromium, and expressed interest in partnering with large laboratories to expand the project's reach. Steinberger noted the unique community atmosphere of ClawCon and his desire to share it widely, marking 2026 as the year of personal agents.