Meta says its Muse personal AI agent was built from scratch but took substantial product inspiration from the open-source OpenClaw project. Nat Friedman, head of product at Meta Superintelligence Labs, addressed the similarities after users found matching workspace file names and closely related content inside the two systems.
Friedman said in an X post that Meta’s team “fell in love” with OpenClaw after using it in January. The team wanted to create a similar personal agent that could be made secure, simple to use and capable of serving billions of people.
Users Found Similar Files Inside Muse and OpenClaw
The discussion gained attention after AI app co-founder Ansh Nanda posted examples comparing Muse with OpenClaw, an open-source personal AI agent created by Peter Steinberger. Nanda shared a conversation in which Muse itself described similarities between its system files and OpenClaw’s files as a “match.”
Other users pointed to specific similarities, including a file named SOUL.md. In OpenClaw, the Markdown file helps define characteristics such as the agent’s personality, communication style, values and behavioral rules.
Users also claimed that some files shared not only the same names but nearly identical content. When asked why Muse used the same workspace file names and similar SOUL.md content, Friedman did not dispute the comparison, saying Meta thought Steinberger “got those things exactly right.”
Friedman nevertheless said Muse itself was developed independently rather than built directly from OpenClaw’s code. Meta’s official Muse announcement similarly states that the company built the personal agent from the ground up.
Meta Wanted an OpenClaw-Like Agent for a Wider Audience
Friedman said he bought hundreds of Mac minis for Meta Superintelligence Labs after experimenting with OpenClaw, and that multiple members of the team became regular users of personal agents. He described Steinberger’s agent framework as pioneering and said it influenced many people working in the field.
OpenClaw gained widespread attention earlier this year before Steinberger joined OpenAI. Meta’s goal, Friedman said, was to take the type of experience OpenClaw demonstrated and make it safer, more secure and easier for mainstream users to operate.
Muse launched on September 8 as an agent that can perform tasks such as booking appointments, filling out forms and working across connected services. Meta says it runs inside a dedicated Muse Secure VM and includes a separate Sentinel system that reviews actions before they reach the internet.
The app has since reached the No. 1 position on Apple’s U.S. App Store. Meta declined to provide further comment on the OpenClaw comparisons beyond Friedman’s statement.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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