The team behind the fastest-growing open-source AI agent in history has announced its permanent identity as OpenClaw, marking the conclusion of a rapid rebranding cycle driven by trademark compliance and community feedback. The project's official web presence has migrated to https://openclaw.my, representing a strategic shift from reactive trademark responses to proactive brand positioning.
The path to OpenClaw involved three names in 72 hours, beginning with Clawd in late 2025—a playful reference to Anthropic's Claude loading screen mascot. Following trademark concerns from Anthropic's legal team, the project pivoted to Moltbot on January 27, 2026, during a Discord community brainstorm. However, the name proved problematic, leading to domain squatting and fraudulent cryptocurrency tokens attempting to capitalize on confusion. The team then conducted rigorous trademark searches before settling on OpenClaw, which combines "Open" to reflect the open-source mission with "Claw" to honor the project's roots.
OpenClaw founder Peter Steinberger addressed the community regarding the rapid changes, stating that while changing a brand name three times in three days is not standard procedure, in open source "we fix bugs fast—whether they are in the code or in the brand." He acknowledged that Moltbot was "a patch, not a platform" while OpenClaw represents the final platform, with the team now "100% focused on shipping code, not changing logos." The project's GitHub repository remains accessible at https://github.com/openclaw.
For business and technology leaders, this rebranding represents more than just a name change—it signals the maturation of a disruptive technology that could reshape how organizations approach AI automation. OpenClaw, originally designed to run autonomous tasks locally, became a viral sensation in late 2025 by empowering developers to run sophisticated AI agents on their own hardware without relying on gated cloud APIs. The tool famously sparked a surge in Mac Mini purchases as enthusiasts built dedicated "home labs" for their agents.
The implications for enterprise adoption are significant. By establishing a legally sound identity that can "coexist peacefully with major industry players," OpenClaw positions itself for corporate adoption while maintaining its open-source principles. The project's commitment to local-first AI automation challenges the prevailing cloud-centric model, potentially reducing costs and increasing privacy for organizations implementing AI solutions. This shift toward decentralized AI infrastructure could accelerate as tools like OpenClaw mature, creating new opportunities for businesses to implement AI without vendor lock-in or data sovereignty concerns.
With the identity crisis resolved, OpenClaw refocuses on its technical roadmap to democratize local AI automation, allowing developers to run powerful, self-improving agents on consumer hardware. The project's evolution from Clawdbot to Moltbot to OpenClaw reflects the growing pains of viral open-source projects navigating intellectual property landscapes while maintaining community trust—a challenge increasingly relevant as AI tools proliferate across industries.
