Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger has joined artificial intelligence firm Anthropic as its new chief product officer, the company announced. Krieger, who previously served as the chief technology officer at Instagram, will oversee product engineering, management, and design at Anthropic.
“Mike is a world-class engineer, builder, and leader,” said Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic. “Mike's background in developing intuitive products and user experiences will be invaluable as we create new ways for people to interact with Claude, particularly in the workplace. We feel fortunate to add Mike's vision and expertise to our leadership team.”
Krieger played a key role in scaling Instagram to 1 billion users and expanding its engineering team to over 450 members. After leaving Instagram, he co-founded the personalized news app Artifact with Kevin Systrom, which was later sold to Yahoo.
Anthropic, which emerged as a significant player in the AI space, is known for its chatbot Claude, a competitor to OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini. The company has seen rapid growth, marked by the release of its first enterprise offering and iOS app earlier this month.
Anthropic's Strategic Move
Anthropic's CEO, Dario Amodei, emphasized that Krieger's expertise in developing user-friendly products will be crucial as the company aims to expand Claude's applications, particularly in enterprise settings. Krieger's hiring is seen as a strategic move to bolster Anthropic's competitive edge in the AI market.
Anthropic has been making significant strides, including the launch of its chatbot Claude 3 in March, which the company claims is its fastest and most powerful AI model to date. The startup has also announced support for multiple languages, including Spanish, French, Italian, and German, broadening its global reach.
The company's new business plan, dubbed Team, has been in beta testing with 30 to 50 customers across various sectors such as technology, financial services, legal services, and healthcare. Anthropic's first iOS app, which debuted this month, offers features like syncing with web chats and the ability to upload photos and files from smartphones. An Android app is also in the pipeline.
Financial Backing and Market Position
Founded by former OpenAI research executives, Anthropic has attracted substantial investment from tech giants like Google, Salesforce, and Amazon. The company has raised nearly $8 billion, most of it within the last year, and is reportedly in the process of securing additional funding.
The generative AI sector has seen explosive growth, with a record $29.1 billion invested across nearly 700 deals in 2023, according to PitchBook. Despite concerns from academics and ethicists about the technology's potential biases, AI continues to permeate various industries, including education, healthcare, and online advertising.
There have been rumors about a potential partnership between Anthropic and Apple, which could further enhance the company's market position.
