Curated News
By: NewsRamp Editorial Staff
January 31, 2026

OpenClaw Emerges: AI Project's 72-Hour Rebranding Saga Ends

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Original Source

TLDR

  • OpenClaw's final rebranding to a legally secure name ensures developers can adopt this open-source AI agent without trademark risks, gaining an edge in local AI automation.
  • The project evolved from Clawdbot to Moltbot to OpenClaw through trademark searches and community feedback, now hosted at openclaw.my for stable, compliant operations.
  • OpenClaw democratizes AI by enabling local, transparent automation on consumer hardware, empowering developers worldwide and reducing reliance on gated cloud services.
  • OpenClaw's name honors its lobster-inspired roots while symbolizing strength after a rapid 72-hour rebranding from Clawdbot and Moltbot to avoid legal issues.

Impact - Why it Matters

This news matters because it highlights the critical intersection of rapid innovation, intellectual property law, and community-driven development in the fast-paced AI industry. For developers and businesses, OpenClaw's journey from Clawdbot to Moltbot to its final name demonstrates the importance of trademark compliance and strategic branding for long-term project viability, especially as open-source tools gain corporate adoption. The project's focus on local AI automation empowers users to run sophisticated agents on their own hardware, reducing dependency on cloud APIs and fostering a more decentralized AI ecosystem. This shift could lower costs, increase privacy, and accelerate innovation in AI applications, making advanced technology more accessible to individual developers and small teams. The rebranding saga also serves as a case study in agile response to legal challenges while maintaining community trust, a valuable lesson for any tech startup or open-source initiative navigating similar waters.

Summary

In a whirlwind 72-hour rebranding saga, the fastest-growing open-source AI agent project has officially settled on its permanent identity: OpenClaw. The project, which began as Clawdbot in late 2025, underwent rapid transformations—first to Moltbot and now to OpenClaw—driven by trademark compliance with Anthropic and community feedback. The final name combines "Open" to reflect its open-source mission with "Claw" to honor its viral heritage, marking a strategic shift from reactive changes to a stable, legally-vetted platform. The team has migrated its official web presence from moltbot.you to openclaw.my, urging users to update their bookmarks immediately.

The journey began when the original name, Clawdbot—a playful nod to Anthropic's Claude—received a "friendly suggestion" from Anthropic's legal team regarding trademark similarities, prompting an immediate pivot. The subsequent name, Moltbot, chosen during a Discord brainstorm, symbolized growth through "molting" but led to technical complexities and a "Wild West" of domain squatting and fraudulent cryptocurrency tokens. Founder Peter Steinberger acknowledged the "whiplash" caused by three name changes in three days but emphasized that in open source, "we fix bugs fast—whether they are in the code or in the brand." OpenClaw represents the "hardened form" after this transitional phase, with the team now 100% focused on shipping code rather than changing logos.

OpenClaw is the direct evolution of Clawdbot, the tool that redefined local AI automation by allowing developers to run sophisticated AI agents on their own hardware without relying on gated cloud APIs. Its initial release sparked a surge in Mac Mini purchases as enthusiasts built dedicated "home labs." The rebranding to OpenClaw was driven by community consensus for a name that sounds more like enterprise-grade infrastructure and global compliance to ensure the project can scale without legal friction. With the identity crisis resolved, the project refocuses on its vision to democratize local AI automation, creating an open ecosystem for powerful, self-improving agents on consumer hardware. The project is available at its new address, openclaw.my, and is maintained by a global community dedicated to transparent AI.

Source Statement

This curated news summary relied on content disributed by 24-7 Press Release. Read the original source here, OpenClaw Emerges: AI Project's 72-Hour Rebranding Saga Ends

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