Microsoft will deliver GitHub into its CoreAI division with the announcement this morning that GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke will probably be stepping down because the chief of the extensively used software program growth platform and code repository.
GitHub has operated largely by itself since its acquisition by Microsoft in 2018 for $7.5 billion. Nonetheless, with the rise of the GitHub Copilot coding assistant and the broader progress of AI-powered software program growth, GitHub’s fortunes are more and more tied to these of its mum or dad firm.
Dohmke mentioned in a submit Monday morning that he’ll stay with GitHub via the tip of 2025 to assist information the transition earlier than leaving to start out a brand new firm. He mentioned his resolution was pushed by a want to return to his startup roots after greater than a decade at Microsoft and GitHub.
“With greater than 1B repos and forks, and over 150 million builders, GitHub has by no means been stronger than it’s at this time,” he wrote. “We now have seen extra open-source initiatives with extra contributions yearly. AI initiatives have doubled within the final yr alone. And our presence in firms of any dimension is unmatched out there.”
GitHub additionally faces strain from AI-powered coding instruments. Along with the coding capabilities from OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude, instruments like Cursor have seen meteoric progress, and Google’s Alphabet is pushing additional into agentic coding with its recruitment of key leaders from AI code era startup Windsurf.
Microsoft shaped its CoreAI group in January to develop AI applied sciences and instruments for the corporate and its clients. The group is led by Jay Parikh, the previous world head of engineering at Fb (now Meta), who joined Microsoft in October 2024.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella mentioned final yr that GitHub Copilot had develop into a bigger enterprise by itself than all of GitHub was when Microsoft purchased it.
In line with Microsoft’s current earnings name, GitHub Copilot now has 20 million customers, and enterprise clients grew 75% quarter-over-quarter. Ninety p.c of the Fortune 100 use the AI assistant, and AI initiatives on GitHub greater than doubled over the previous yr, in accordance with the corporate.
Saying the acquisition in 2018, Microsoft promised that GitHub would “function independently to offer an open platform for all builders in all industries.” We’ve requested Microsoft for extra data on the brand new construction and what it means for GitHub’s operations, and we’ll replace this submit as we be taught extra.
Dohmke, who moved from Germany to america after promoting his startup to Microsoft greater than a decade in the past, took over as GitHub CEO in 2021 after serving to to guide the acquisition alongside Nat Friedman.
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