Cat Wu, Top Product Manager at Anthropic, Leaves Company
Cat Wu, a top product manager at Anthropic and a key figure behind its successful tool Claude Code, left the company on Friday. Wu announced her departure on Tuesday, expressing gratitude to the Claude Code team and its users, and reflecting on the tool's achievements. As the head of product for Claude Code, she played a pivotal role alongside its creator, Boris Cherny.
Claude Code, under Wu and Cherny's leadership, became a significant milestone in AI industry history. The technology propelled Anthropic to increased revenues and secured additional funding, making it a formidable competitor to OpenAI.
Wu did not disclose the reason for her departure and was unavailable for comment at the time. Her exit comes at a significant moment for Anthropic, as it prepares for a major initial public offering (IPO) later this month. The company confirmed her departure, and Thariq Shihipar, another Claude Code contributor, also left last month.
Wu joined Anthropic in the summer of 2024, testing an early prototype of Claude Code. In her Tuesday post, she shared a nostalgic moment: "It worked, I was hooked, and I joined the team." The tool was released in research preview in February 2025, with Wu and Cherny showcasing it in a brief demo video.
After a brief stint at an AI coding startup, Cursor, Wu and Cherny returned to Anthropic. Together, they guided Claude Code's rapid ascent, which accelerated in late 2025. The tool initially gained popularity as an automatic coder for software engineers, revolutionizing their coding tasks. Tech giants' AI bills with Anthropic skyrocketed as developers embraced Claude tokens.
Wu also oversees Cowork, Anthropic's tool for non-coding work, leveraging the same AI models to assist non-software engineers. In an interview on Lenny's Podcast (April), Wu discussed her role in developing Claude Code towards the "AGI-pilled" vision of the future, referring to the industry's quest for artificial general intelligence.
She collaborated with various teams, including marketing, sales, and finance, and managed to hire some of Anthropic's product managers. Wu also actively engaged with users on social media, promptly addressing their queries.
A commenter on her X post humorously suggested, "Are you gonna take that 6 months vacation now?" Wu playfully responded, "post agi!"
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