The Walmart engineer who built the 75,000-user AI coding assistant Code Puppy is joining Pydantic, the startup whose library powers the tool. His departure comes as Walmart prepares for earnings.
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Michael Pfaffenberger, the Walmart engineer who built the internal AI coding assistant Code Puppy, is leaving the retailer to join Pydantic, an AI startup whose library underpins the tool.
Pfaffenberger told colleagues in a memo reviewed by Business Insider that he was leaving Walmart a year after Code Puppy grew from 1,000 users to more than 75,000. The tool will continue to be supported by his team, he wrote.
"I'm filled with joy that I was able to create software that improved the lives of so many folks at work and outside of it," Pfaffenberger wrote. "These decisions are never easy, but the time is right."
Walmart confirmed his departure and wished him well. The company is in a quiet period ahead of its earnings report on August 20.
Code Puppy, based on the Pydantic AI library, helps developers write, edit, test and manage software using natural-language instructions. Unlike tools tied to a single model, Code Puppy works with dozens of models from different suppliers, letting developers switch between them or use several at once, the company has said.
The tool is part of Walmart's push to avoid getting locked into a small number of powerful AI providers, a concern many technology executives share.
Walmart chief technology officer Suresh Kumar said in June that Code Puppy is used by roughly as many non-engineers as engineers, including hourly associates. One regional load manager used Code Puppy to build a tool that analyzes hundreds of truckloads to minimize drivers turning around after a dropoff without a load.
Pfaffenberger and his colleague John Choi received an award from Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner at the annual shareholders meeting last month, recognizing the project.
Pydantic chief technology officer David Montague told Business Insider that Pfaffenberger brings experience building AI tools that coordinate multiple agents in a large enterprise, a skill companies increasingly need as they struggle with AI adoption.
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