Claude Code lead Cat Wu joins OpenAI before Anthropic IPO

Cat Wu ran product for Anthropic's Claude Code, the coding tool that became one of the AI industry's biggest hits. She is now joining OpenAI to lead product management for its core products team. She announced the move on X on Wednesday, November 4, a day after she said publicly that she had left Anthropic, Business Insider reported. OpenAI confirmed the hire, and Anthropic declined to comment.businessinsider.com

The move takes one of Claude Code's best-known public faces to Anthropic's closest rival. It also comes a few weeks before Anthropic's planned initial public offering, as the company tries to convince investors that its growth will last.

A new role at OpenAI

Wu will work with Nick Turley on enterprise products and Ashley Alexander on consumer products. She will report to Tibo Sottiaux, an OpenAI representative told Business Insider. In her post, Wu said she has "a lot of respect for OpenAI" and wrote that "we'll build agents that have your back and your team's, and keep you in control, so you get more time for the people and work you love," according to the outlet. She also said OpenAI had shown that scaling works, had brought AI to more than a billion people and treats great products as central to its mission, Unite.AI reported.unite.ai+1

The hire could help OpenAI's Codex, its own coding tool, which fell behind Anthropic in enterprise sales earlier this year, Business Insider noted. Asked whether leaving would let her sell shares sooner than employees who stayed, Wu said she had "no idea" and that it "wasn't a factor for me."businessinsider.com

An exit before the IPO

Wu announced her departure on Tuesday, November 3, saying Friday, October 30, had been her last day. Anthropic confirmed the departure, Business Insider reported. She joined Anthropic in summer 2024 and tested an early prototype of Claude Code. With creator Boris Cherny, she became one of the tool's two top leaders. She also oversaw Cowork, Anthropic's product for non-coding knowledge work. When someone asked whether she would take time off, she replied, "post agi!"businessinsider.com

Her exit follows other departures from the Claude Code team, including engineer Thariq Shihipar, who announced on October 24 that he had left, according to a tally by FourWeekMBA.fourweekmba.com

A return trip to a rival

This is not the first time Wu has left Anthropic for a competitor. In 2025, she and Cherny left for the AI coding startup Cursor but came back to Anthropic soon after, Business Insider recalled, citing The Information. Before Anthropic, Wu was a partner at Index Ventures, which later co-led Anthropic's September 2025 funding round.businessinsider.com