GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke departs amid rising AI coding competition
Microsoft's GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke is stepping down as the company faces increasing competition from AI coding startups like Cursor and Replit.
Mustafa Yalcin | Anadolu | Getty Images
Microsoft's GitHub unit, a key player in the AI-powered coding tools market, is losing its CEO, Thomas Dohmke, as competition intensifies. Dohmke, who joined Microsoft in 2015 via the acquisition of his startup HockeyApp, took over as GitHub CEO in 2021. He announced his departure in a memo to employees, stating he will leave by year-end to "become a founder again."
Key Developments:
- Leadership Transition: Dohmke's exit comes as GitHub integrates into Microsoft's newly formed CoreAI group, led by former Meta executive Jay Parikh. Three GitHub executives—Vladimir Fedorov, Kyle Daigle, and Elizabeth Pemmerl—will now report to Microsoft CoreAI's Julia Liuson.
- AI Competition Heats Up: GitHub, which launched Copilot in 2021 with Microsoft and OpenAI, faces rivals like Cursor, Replit, and Windsurf. Google recently acquired Windsurf's CEO in a $2.4 billion AI talent deal.
- Market Share Shifts: A Stack Overflow survey revealed 76% of developers use Microsoft's Visual Studio Code, but newer tools like Cursor (18%) and Claude Code (10%) are gaining traction.
- Copilot Growth: Despite competition, Microsoft reports 20 million Copilot users and a 75% quarterly increase in Enterprise customers.
Dohmke expressed confidence in GitHub's legacy, predicting "one billion developers enabled by AI agents" in the future. For more, watch CNBC's coverage: The rise of AI 'vibe coding'.
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A seasoned AI expert with 15 years of research experience, formerly worked at Stanford AI Lab for 8 years, specializing in machine learning and natural language processing. Currently serves as technical advisor for multiple AI companies and regularly contributes AI technology analysis articles to authoritative media like MIT Technology Review.