Poaching Rivalry: Cursor Snatches Two Core Figures from Claude Code Team}
Amid fierce industry competition, Cursor’s developer Anysphere has poached two key leaders from Anthropic’s Claude Code, signaling intense talent battles in AI programming.
AI industry’s talent poaching saga continues to unfold.
According to The Information, Anysphere, the developer behind Cursor, has recruited two senior figures from Anthropic’s Claude Code team.
Given Cursor’s reliance on Anthropic—being one of its largest clients—this move is quite bold and could complicate the relationship between the two companies.
Specifically, Anysphere has hired Boris Cherny and Cat Wu, both at managerial levels.
Cherny, the lead developer of Claude Code and a key figure in its technology, will join Anysphere as Chief Architect and Engineering Director. Wu, the product manager of Claude Code, will take on the role of Product Director at Anysphere.
Boris Cherny and Cat Wu, in this interview, Cherny mentioned that 80% of Claude’s code was written by Anthropic. Source: Latent Space
Cherny stated that these new hires will focus on developing “agent-like” functionalities—automating complex multi-step programming tasks—and other products.
However, for Anthropic, it’s not all bad news. The company’s annual revenue has reached $4 billion, with monthly revenue of $330 million, nearly quadrupling since the start of the year. Its valuation now stands at $61.5 billion.
Many developers and engineers consider Anthropic’s Claude series to be the best programming models, widely integrated into tools like Cursor. Sualeh Asif, co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Anysphere, once said that Anthropic is “one of our closest partners,” and that its technology supports most of Cursor’s business.
Thanks to Anthropic’s excellent AI models and Cursor’s continuous optimization, Cursor’s business has seen strong growth, recently expanding support to web and mobile development.
Last month, Anysphere reported annual recurring revenue exceeding $500 million, or about $42 million monthly. Just three months earlier, it was $200 million annually, doubling in a short period. Its valuation has surged to $9.9 billion, up from $2.6 billion last December.
In February, Anthropic launched its own AI programming product, Claude Code, which gained widespread popularity. Major players like OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Amazon have entered the AI coding market, intensifying competition.
This time, Anysphere’s move to poach two core figures from Claude Code could introduce new variables into this rapidly evolving market. Stay tuned for further developments.
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