OpenAI's acquisition of OpenClaw, the open-source AI agent, signals a major shift in the AI industry, as the company focuses on AI's capabilities rather than just its conversational skills, according to VentureBeat. The move comes as OpenAI prepares for a potential IPO later this year, with the company's employee stock-based compensation reaching a record $1.5 million on average, as reported by Fortune.
Peter Steinberger, the creator of OpenClaw, announced he would be joining OpenAI to "work on bringing agents to everyone," VentureBeat reported. The OpenClaw project will transition to an independent foundation, though OpenAI will sponsor it. This acquisition represents OpenAI's most significant move yet, emphasizing the practical applications of AI.
OpenAI's reported plans for an IPO could significantly benefit its employees. Fortune reported that the company's average stock-based compensation hit $1.5 million among its roughly 4,000 employees in 2025. With a valuation of $830 billion from its latest funding round, an IPO at or near that level could create numerous multimillionaires. This level of employee equity sharing is unprecedented among major tech startups, with Google's public offering in the early 2000s being the next closest example, at about a quarter of a million dollars in average stock compensation.
In other news, the crypto exchange Kraken acquired the token management platform Magna, as announced on Wednesday by Fortune. Kraken, which declined to disclose the terms of the acquisition, has made six deals in the past year, including the $1.5 billion purchase of the U.S. futures platform NinjaTrader in March. Magna assists crypto companies in managing the distribution of their cryptocurrencies. "When crypto startups raise money from venture capitalists, they often promise investors a tranche of tokens, much like traditional startups give VCs equity," said Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Kraken, to Fortune.
Meanwhile, research from Simon Fraser University, published on Phys.org, found that climate change and environmental toxins are harming Arctic seals. The study revealed that a single year of warmer-than-average Arctic temperatures can cause malnutrition in the seals, intensifying risks to Inuit food security and northern ecosystems.
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