OpenClaw creator slams Europe's regulations as he moves to the US

OpenClaw logo Thomas Fuller via Reuters Connect 2026-02-18T02:12:18.496Z Share Copy link Email Facebook WhatsApp X LinkedIn Bluesky Threads lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt.

Impact Link Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. Peter Steinberger is joining OpenAI, moving from Europe to the US for tech opportunities. He cited strict European regulations as a challenge for tech company growth in the region. Europe lags behind the US in tech innovation, as highlighted by an EU report. In Europe, there's been a lot of handwringing over why there are very few large, successful tech companies in the region. Peter Steinberger, the creator of the agentic AI hit OpenClaw, has an answer. Steinberger was recently hired by OpenAI and is moving from Europe to the US. An Austrian by birth, he previously split his time between London and Vienna.On X, a professor from a European university asked why Europe couldn't retain this tech talent. Steinberger replied that most people in the US are enthusiastic, while in Europe, he's scolded about responsibility and regulations.If he built a company in Europe, he would struggle with strict labor regulations and similar rules, he added. At OpenAI, he said most employees work 6 to 7 days a week and are paid accordingly. In Europe, that would be illegal, he added.The most valuable company in Europe is Dutch chip-equipment maker ASML, valued at about $550 billion. In contrast, there are 10 US companies worth more than $1 trillion. Most of these are tech companies. In 2024, a landmark EU report found that the region had fallen behind the US, particularly in innovation. It proposed a series of changes to tackle the problem, but by the end of 2025, few of the recommendations had been implemented.Steinberger said he was hopeful about EU INC, an effort to create a single corporate legal framework to make it simpler to run a business across the region. But this seems to be "fizzling out," he wrote on X. "Watered down, too much egoistic national interest that ultimately hurts everyone."Sign up for BI's Tech Memo newsletter here. Reach out to me via email at abarr@businessinsider.com.