Be Peter Steinberger > Start a PDF engine (PSPDFKit) > Grind on it for a decade
From a decade-long PDF engine grind to a viral AI agent that exploded across the internet.
The story follows Peter Steinberger's entrepreneurial journey from founding and grinding on PSPDFKit, a PDF engine, for over a decade—competing with giants without venture capital and achieving a nine-figure exit. After taking time off, he quietly shipped over 40 beautifully crafted open-source tools. One of these tools, OpenClaw, evolved into a general-purpose AI agent that unexpectedly exploded in popularity, garnering millions of users across the internet. This viral success and the potential of the agent technology directly led to Steinberger joining OpenAI, where he aims to push the vision of capable AI agents even further within a leading AI organization.
- Built PSPDFKit over 10+ years with no VC funding, leading to a 9-figure exit.
- Later created 40+ open-source tools; one evolved into the viral AI agent OpenClaw.
- OpenClaw's success with millions of users resulted in Steinberger joining OpenAI to advance agent tech.
Why It Matters
Shows how focused product execution can lead to unexpected breakthroughs in the fast-moving AI agent space.