GitHub falls further into Microsoft’s hands following CEO's resignation
The CEO of GitHub has announced his departure in search of new beginnings, as the platform falls further into Microsoft’s grasp.
Thomas Dohmke is stepping down as CEO of GitHub and going back to his roots. He’s moved from Germany to the US following the sale of his start-up to Microsoft.
The GitHub executive has said that it's time to go back to his “start-up roots” and wants to leave the platform to “become a founder again.”
Previously, Microsoft acquired Dohmke’s HockeyApp, which, in Dohmke’s words, makes “it easier for developers to beta test their mobile apps and collect crash reports.”
HockeyApp, which has nothing to do with hockey, was acquired by Microsoft in 2015 but later retired and transitioned to Microsoft’s Visual Studio App Center.
In a blog post, the former CEO said that he will be staying on until the end of 2025 but will be “leaving with a deep sense of pride in everything…built as a remote-first organization.”
Dohmke said that “GitHub and its leadership team will continue its mission as part of Microsoft CoreAI organization, with more details shared soon.”
Microsoft acquired the popular code repository site for $7.5 billion in stock in 2018, according to a previous announcement.
Instead of replacing Dohmke, GitHub and its leadership team will deal with matters related to the platform within Microsoft’s CoreAI team, a new division that brings together a range of teams led by Jay Parikh. The CoreAI division is also responsible for building GitHub Copilot.
Dohmke mentioned some of his achievements while at the company, from helping former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman as Microsoft was gearing up to acquire the platform to working alongside “Microsofties” and “Hubbers.”
The former CEO also posted on X, relaying much of the same information he added in the blog post.
After nearly four years as CEO, I’m leaving GitHub to become a startup founder again.
undefined Thomas Dohmke (@ashtom) August 11, 2025
With more than 1B repos and forks, 150M+ developers, and Copilot continuing to lead the most thriving market in AI with 20M users and counting, GitHub has never been stronger than it is today.…
The X post said that after four years of being CEO, Dohmke is leaving the company that has “more than 1 billion repos and forks, and over 150 million developers.”
