Clawdbot Rebrands as Moltbot After Anthropic Trademark Dispute
Open-source AI assistant Clawdbot rebrands to Moltbot after Anthropic trademark concerns, while scammers exploit its sudden popularity online.
In a surprising turn for the fast-growing open-source AI community, Clawdbot — the personal AI assistant tool that has recently gained traction among developers — has officially changed its name to Moltbot. The rebranding comes after a reported trademark concern raised by Anthropic, the company behind the Claude AI model.
Clawdbot’s creator, Peter Steinberger, said the change wasn’t voluntary but necessary after the company flagged similarities between “Clawdbot” and “Claude.” While the original name carried a playful nod to its lobster-themed branding, the new identity aims to preserve that spirit while avoiding legal complications.
The updated name, Moltbot, draws inspiration from the natural molting process lobsters undergo to grow — something Steinberger says mirrors the project’s evolution. Explaining the situation publicly, he wrote: “Crypto folks: I was forced to rename the account by Anthropic. Wasn't my decision. Anthropic asked us to change our name (trademark stuff), and honestly? Molt fits perfectly — it's what lobsters do to grow. Same mission: AI that actually does things.”
The tool itself has been generating considerable excitement, especially in Silicon Valley tech circles. Unlike cloud-dependent AI chatbots, Clawdbot — now Moltbot — can be installed locally, giving users a more personal and customizable AI assistant that runs directly on their own machines. For AI processing, however, it still integrates with external services like Anthropic’s Claude or Google Gemini.
Steinberger has described the project as more of a hobby than a polished commercial product, warning users that it may still contain bugs, including potential security vulnerabilities. Despite this, its flexibility and local-first design have attracted a growing base of enthusiasts who prefer more control over their AI tools.
The name change, however, triggered unexpected complications. As soon as the original Clawdbot social media handles were vacated, scammers reportedly seized them. These bad actors began promoting cryptocurrency schemes under the old name, misleading users.
One X user flagged the issue, stating, “Absolute madness today. Peter Steinberger was forced to rename Clawdbot due to an Anthropic trademark issue, and in the transition, crypto scammers snatched his old handles on both X and GitHub. If you see Clawdbot shilling coins, it’s a scam!”
Steinberger also addressed the confusion directly: “To all crypto folks: Please stop pinging me, stop harassing me. I will never do a coin. Any project that lists me as coin owner is a SCAM. No, I will not accept fees. You are actively damaging the project.”
Meanwhile, the software’s popularity has even influenced hardware trends. Many users are reportedly turning to Apple’s Mac Mini as a compact and capable machine to run the assistant locally. Others are deploying it on cloud platforms like AWS or on standard Windows and Linux systems.
With its new name and growing community, Moltbot appears ready for its next phase — even if the journey has required shedding its old shell.
