OpenClaw Webinar: The "Always-On" AI Employee — CDTM Exclusive

On February 13, 2026, together with Serg Lotz (CDTM Fall 2020) and Rod Rivera (CDTM Fall 2009), we hosted an exclusive webinar for the CDTM community — with over 129 registrations.

The topic: OpenClaw, the first open-source AI agent that doesn't just chat, but actively works — editing files, executing code, checking emails, automating workflows — 24/7 on your own infrastructure.

What We Showed

1. What Is OpenClaw — and Why Is It More Than ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is a conversation in a browser tab. OpenClaw is an agent that lives on your machine:

Reads and writes files, executes code, manages Git
Sends messages via Telegram, WhatsApp, Slack, Discord, Signal
Works autonomously — even while you sleep
Your data stays on YOUR infrastructure

2. Memory & Continuity

OpenClaw doesn't store anything in its head — everything is written to files:

SOUL.md — Personality and tone
MEMORY.md — Long-term memory (like a journal)
memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md — Daily logs
AGENTS.md — Operating instructions

At the start of each session, the agent reads these files and "remembers" who it is and what happened.

3. The Heartbeat — The Agent's Pulse

Every ~30 minutes, the agent wakes up and checks if there's something to do:

Check emails
Monitor calendar
Background maintenance (Git, docs)
Proactive notifications

No constant pinging — only when something matters.

4. Live Demo

The live demo was also the proof: the agent running during the webinar detected new Luma registrations in real-time, researched the participants, and automatically populated a Google Slides presentation with profile information — all without human intervention.

5. The German Stack — GDPR & Local Infrastructure

Especially relevant for DACH companies:

Hetzner VPS in Germany (from €5/month)
Mac Mini under the desk
Raspberry Pi for lightweight agents
No data leaves the network
Full control over API keys
Git history = compliance audit trail

6. Security Hardening

What to set up on day one:

SSH: Key-auth only, change default port
Firewall: UFW, only necessary ports
Updates: Unattended upgrades
Fail2Ban against brute-force
File permissions: 600 on API keys

OpenClaw itself offers tool allowlists, Elevated Mode (asks before destructive actions), isolated sessions, and automatic security audits via the Healthcheck skill.

Who Attended?

Over 129 participants from the CDTM community — from startup founders to consulting partners to deep-tech engineers. The diversity of attendees shows how relevant self-hosted AI agents have become across industries.

Try It Yourself

npm install -g openclaw
openclaw init
openclaw gateway start

Or start with a professional setup: startlobster.de — we handle installation, hardening, and ongoing support for DACH companies.

OpenClaw Webinar: The 'Always-On' AI Employee — CDTM Exclusive Recap