OpenClaw Creator Peter Steinberger to Speak at TEDAI 2026 in Vienna

Austrian-born Peter Steinberger will appear as a speaker at the TEDAI conference in Vienna in autumn 2026. The event takes place from 28 to 30 October 2026 at the Vienna Hofburg and is considered the world’s only official TED conference focused on Artificial Intelligence.

Steinberger is best known as the creator of the viral open-source project OpenClaw. Today he works at OpenAI, where he is involved in developing products for a so-called “agent-first” world. His stated goal is to give every person access to their own AI assistant. With this focus, he exemplifies the next major wave of development in the field of Artificial Intelligence. As reported on multiple occasions, AI companies — from Anthropic to Tencent — are currently adopting the OpenClaw concept one after another.

Further confirmed speakers

In addition to Steinberger, three further personalities have already been confirmed as speakers for TEDAI 2026:

• Geoffrey Hinton, British-Canadian scientist and pioneer in the field of neural networks and deep learning. He is considered one of the “Godfathers of AI” and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2024.
• Yukiyasu Kamitani, Japanese neuroscientist known for his research into AI-assisted decoding of brain activity. His work includes the reconstruction of visual perception and even of dreams.
• Kauna Ibrahim Malgwi, clinical psychologist and founder of the Digital Rights and Mental Health Initiative in Nigeria. She researches algorithmic trauma and digital working conditions, and was included in the TIME100 AI in 2024.

Conference format and programme

TEDAI 2026 spans three days and is aimed at around 1,200 international participants from business, research, technology, politics, and the arts. The first evening begins with an opening ball at the Hofburg. The second day is structured as a so-called Discovery Day featuring workshops and interactive formats. The third day brings the event to a close with more than 20 TED Talks and performances.

“The focus of this year’s conference is on the most ambitious AI trends and ideas of our time: concrete solutions, radical paradigm shifts, eye-opening research findings, and difficult but urgently necessary social questions. TEDAI26 is a call for collective AI responsibility and hope at the same time,” says Alina Nikolaou, Co-Founder, Director and Curator of TEDAI.

TEDAI is taking place for the third time in 2026 and, according to the organisers, has established itself as a central dialogue platform for international exchange on Artificial Intelligence.