Cat Wu, Anthropic’s product lead for Claude Code, has left the company as it prepares for a large initial public offering later this month. Wu announced her departure on X on Tuesday, thanking the Claude Code team and its users. Anthropic confirmed that she had left; Wu has not given a reason.
Claude Code has become one of Anthropic’s major products. Wu helped develop it alongside Boris Cherny, who created the tool. Its growth has expanded Anthropic’s reach and increased developers’ use of the company’s AI models, supporting revenue growth and demand for computing capacity. The departure of a senior product leader comes as the company prepares to go public.
Wu joined during Claude Code’s early prototype phase
Wu joined Anthropic in summer 2024 and helped test early Claude Code prototypes. In her departure post, she recalled that the product was already working when she first encountered it, and said she quickly became immersed in the project and joined the team.
Anthropic launched Claude Code as a research preview in February 2025. Wu and Cherny appeared together in the initial demonstration video. Later that summer, both briefly moved to AI coding startup Cursor before returning to Anthropic a few weeks later.
Claude Code began gaining rapid traction in late 2025. Initially popular with software engineers, the tool can handle substantial coding tasks automatically. As adoption grew, developers’ use of Anthropic’s models also increased, with model usage fees contributing to the company’s revenue.
Cowork extended Anthropic’s tools beyond coding
Wu also led Cowork, Anthropic’s product for non-coding work. Built on the same family of AI models, Cowork is aimed at knowledge workers beyond software engineering, as Anthropic seeks to extend its models into a wider range of workplace applications.
In an April interview on Lenny’s Podcast, Wu said part of her role was turning Cherny’s vision for Claude Code’s future into a product roadmap. She also worked with marketing, sales and finance teams, helped recruit product managers, and regularly responded on social media to user feedback and requests about Claude Code.
Departure adds to team changes before IPO
Wu has not publicly explained her decision to leave and did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In her X post, she thanked colleagues and users and reflected on the product’s development. Asked by a user whether she would take six months off, Wu replied, “After AGI”—a reference to artificial general intelligence, a term commonly used in the AI industry.
Claude Code has seen other staffing changes in recent months. Thariq Shihipar, who also worked on the product, announced his departure last month. Anthropic is preparing for an IPO later this month, but has not shared further information on Wu’s successor or how her departure may affect Claude Code’s product management.