OpenAI Snatches Claude Code’s Product Leader as Anthropic Nears IPO
OpenAI Snatches Claude Code’s Product Leader as Anthropic Nears IPO
Cat Wu’s journey through the AI coding boom began at Anthropic in summer 2024, when she tested an early Claude Code prototype. “It worked, I was hooked, and I joined the team,” she later wrote.
By February 2025, Anthropic had put Claude Code into research preview. Wu became the product-side counterpart to creator Boris Cherny, helping turn the tool from an internal experiment into a breakout coding product. Developers used it to automate increasingly large chunks of software work; the surge also strengthened Anthropic’s revenue story and its rivalry with OpenAI.
Wu and Cherny briefly left for coding startup Cursor that summer before returning to Anthropic, according to reporting cited by The Information. Back at the company, Wu also oversaw Cowork, Anthropic’s non-coding knowledge-work tool, and publicly fielded user feedback as Claude Code’s profile rose.
Last week, Wu left Anthropic. She announced the departure Tuesday, as the company prepared for a planned IPO later this month. Anthropic confirmed the exit but did not comment on why she left; Wu said neither a potential earlier sale of her shares nor a break from work had driven the decision.
On Wednesday, the destination became clear: OpenAI. Wu said she would lead product management for Core Products, praising OpenAI’s reach and arguing that the company could build agents that “have your back and your team’s, and keep you in control.” Greg Brockman publicly welcomed her: “welcome @_catwu to the team!!”
For OpenAI, the hire brings in a product leader whose Claude Code work helped set the pace in enterprise AI coding. For Anthropic, it removes one of the most recognizable faces of that success just as investors weigh whether the company can sustain it.
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