OpenClaw cập nhật tuần tới: Hỗ trợ Claude Code và OpenAI Codex, người sáng lập Steinberger vẫn đang vừa làm vừa viết code

Peter Steinberger’s OpenClaw announced that next week it will support Claude Code and OpenAI Codex CLI plugins, while also splitting the core engine to reduce package size—yet the fact that this former PSPDFKit founder is still managing two companies at the same time remains the real risk factor worth noting.
(Background: Cursor launched a background AI agent that automatically fixes bugs and builds features, with developers only needing to give commands)
(Additional context: Anthropic released Claude Code: a terminal AI assistant that writes code directly in the command line)

Table of Contents

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• Feature list: everything it should have, but nothing surprising
• The real question: can one person run two companies at once?
• A calm observation on market positioning

Another AI coding tool announced an update via a tweet on Sunday. This time it’s OpenClaw—an open-source AI coding agent created by former PSPDFKit founder Peter Steinberger. He posted a series of tweets on X, detailing the list of features to be released next week.

Honestly, this list itself isn’t surprising. Support for Claude Code plugins, integration with OpenAI Codex CLI, compatibility with ACP (Agent Communication Protocol)—these are all must-have features for any product aiming to survive in the AI coding tools market, rather than true differentiators.

Feature list: everything it should have, but nothing surprising

According to Steinberger’s tweets, the core updates next week include:

• Claude Code plugin support—enabling OpenClaw to function as an extension within the Anthropic ecosystem

• OpenAI Codex CLI plugin—compatibility with OpenAI’s command-line development tools

• ACP protocol support—facilitating cross-agent communication, which is the infrastructure foundation for multi-agent architectures

• Agent interruption mechanism fix—solving the issue where agents cannot gracefully stop during execution

• Splitting the core engine into standalone modules—reducing installation size and improving modularity

Together, these features roughly outline OpenClaw’s positioning: not to replace full IDEs like Cursor or Windsurf, but to serve as a lightweight, embeddable, open-source agent engine. Strategically, this isn’t a bad approach, but the challenge lies in execution.

The real question: can one person run two companies at once?

Steinberger is still a co-founder of PSPDFKit (now renamed Nutrient). This company, focused on PDF SDKs, employs over 100 people and serves thousands of enterprise clients. Meanwhile, he is pushing forward with OpenClaw, a high-velocity open-source project that requires rapid iteration.

The competition pace for open-source AI tools is measured in “weeks.” Claude Code updates every few days; Cursor’s iteration speed is similarly rapid. In such an environment, it’s reasonable to worry whether a part-time founder can maintain enough dedication.

Of course, Steinberger’s technical reputation in developer tools is unquestioned—PSPDFKit is one of the few independent companies that has thrived in the B2B SDK market for over a decade. But technical skill and bandwidth are two different things.

A calm observation on market positioning

Currently, the AI coding tools market roughly divides into three layers:

• First layer: full IDEs—Cursor, Windsurf, GitHub Copilot Workspace

• Second layer: CLI agents—Claude Code, OpenAI Codex CLI, Aider

• Third layer: embeddable engines—the position OpenClaw is trying to occupy

The logic of the third layer is “let others use my engine with their tools,” which depends on network effects within the ecosystem. OpenClaw has some stars on GitHub, but it’s still far from forming a developer ecosystem.

It’s worth noting that Anthropic’s own Claude Code has opened up plugin systems, and OpenAI’s Codex CLI is rapidly expanding its plugin ecosystem. When platform providers start building their own ecosystems, the space for third-party engines will be further squeezed.

This doesn’t mean OpenClaw has no value—open-source alternatives will always have their market, especially for enterprise users with sensitive data. But “open source” itself isn’t a moat; sustained high-quality maintenance is, and that circles back to bandwidth issues.