Anthropic: Cat Wu Leaves Claude Code Ahead of IPO

Key Takeaways

1Cat Wu, product lead of Claude Code, is leaving Anthropic just weeks before the IPO

2His departure follows similar moves within the team, including that of Thariq Shihipar

3Claude Code has seen rapid adoption since its launch in February 2025

Why it matters : This departure comes at a strategic time for Anthropic, as the company is preparing to go public and Claude Code has played a key role in its growth.

Anthropic has confirmed the departure of Cat Wu, product lead for Claude Code and a public figure of the project alongside Boris Cherny. This exit comes just weeks before a planned IPO announced for this month, following a period marked by team fluctuations and rapid adoption of the tool.

Fluctuations and Recent Departures Surrounding Claude Code

Two individuals, Boris Cherny and Cat Wu, had left Anthropic for the startup Cursor in the summer of 2025, only to return a few weeks later. Last month, Thariq Shihipar, also involved in the development of Claude Code, announced his own departure. After their return, Wu and Cherny oversaw the growth of Claude Code, which gained momentum at the end of 2025. Meanwhile, it has been reported that the AI bills of major tech companies using Anthropic have surged as the use of Claude tokens progressed.

Public Announcement and Tight IPO Timeline

Anthropic is preparing for a massive IPO later this month, and Cat Wu's departure comes just weeks before this deadline. On Tuesday afternoon, she announced her departure on X, thanking the Claude Code team and its users, and mentioning the progress made by the tool. The company confirmed her departure. Cat Wu did not specify the reasons for her decision and did not immediately respond to media inquiries.

Le brief IA que lisent les pros

Le brief IA que les pros lisent chaque soir

Les 7 actus IA du jour, décryptées en 5 min. Gratuit.

Inclus dès l'inscription : notre sélection des meilleurs guides & comparatifs IA.

Choisissez votre rythme

Gratuit · Pas de spam · Désabonnement en 1 clic

Wu's Mandate: Evangelism, Cowork, and Recruitment

Cat Wu held the position of product lead for Claude Code and was, along with Boris Cherny, one of the two main figures and promoters of the technology. She was also in charge of Cowork, Anthropic's solution dedicated to knowledge work unrelated to coding, based on the same artificial intelligence models. In her role, she collaborated with marketing, sales, finance, and other teams, and recruited several product managers. She regularly responded to user inquiries about Claude Code on social media. In April, she described her roadmap as aiming for an "AGI-pilled" version of Claude Code, a concept attributed to Cherny.

From Prototype to Research Version, Then to Adoption

In the summer of 2024, Cat Wu joined Anthropic after testing an early prototype of Claude Code, which she described as compelling in a message posted on Tuesday. In February 2025, the tool was launched in a research version, showcased in a short demonstration video featuring Wu and Cherny. Claude Code initially established itself as an automatic coder for software engineers, capable of quickly executing entire coding tasks. It is presented as one of the most significant products in the recent AI industry and is said to have provided Anthropic with a viral product to boost its revenue and secure additional funding for computing.