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Claude Code Head Boris Cherny: Insane Growth, Tokenmaxxing, AI Agents' Next Frontier

Shownote

Boris Cherney is the head of Claude Code at Anthropic. Cherney joins Big Technology to discuss Claude Code’s explosive growth and whether the rise of AI agents is sustainable. Tune in to hear how Claude Code is changing software development, why Anthropic believes agents will spread far beyond coding, and what happens when people start running hundreds or thousands of AI agents in parallel. We also cover token maxing, rate limits, Codex competition, SaaS disruption, self-improving AI, and whether today’s models really understand the consequences of their actions. Hit play for a sharp look at the agent boom from one of the people building it. Join the Big Technology AI Summit: https://summit.bigtechnology.com [https://summit.bigtechnology.com/] --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. Want a discount for Big Technology on Substack + Discord? Here’s 25% off for the first year: https://www.bigtechnology.com/subscribe?coupon=0843016b [https://www.bigtechnology.com/subscribe?coupon=0843016b] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Highlights

In this episode, Boris Cherney, the head of Claude Code at Anthropic, joins the podcast to discuss the explosive growth of AI agents, particularly Claude Code, and their potential to transform software development and everyday tasks. The conversation explores how these agents are moving beyond simple chatbots to become proactive tools that can plan trips, automate workflows, and boost productivity across various industries.
00:00
Demand up 80x year-over-year
07:43
Claude Code is an agent, not just a chatbot
13:26
Code volume per engineer increased 250% with Claude Code.
16:30
Optimizing should come after scaling use cases
24:29
Intelligence should be prioritized over efficiency
29:16
AI agents shift from search to direct task handling.
57:31
Real-world adoption proves it's not a fever dream.

Chapters

Claude Code's Explosive Growth and Anthropic's Skyrocketing Valuation
00:00
From Chatbot to Agent: How Claude Code Builds Software in Plain English
05:10
A Real-World Test: Planning a Multi-City Trip with an AI Agent
10:46
The Token Experiment: Why Companies Should Let Everyone Play with AI
16:30
Beyond the Productivity Paradox: Restructuring Work Around AI
21:47
Non-Engineers Take the Wheel: Fixing Computer Issues with Claude Code
29:16
The Future of Agents: Auto Mode, Parallel Execution, and Proactive Assistants
39:16

Transcript

Alex Kantrowitz: Let's talk with Claude Code Head Boris Cherny about the product's explosive growth, what's next on the roadmap, and whether all this is sustainable. That's coming up right after this. I'm just back from ServiceNow's Knowledge 2026 in Las V...