Anthropic Welcomes Instagram Co-Founder as New Head of Product

Mike Krieger, co-founder of Instagram and co-founder of the personalized news app Artifact, which was recently acquired by Yahoo, is stepping into the role of Chief Product Officer (CPO) at Anthropic. As CPO, Krieger will lead Anthropic's product engineering, management, and design initiatives, focusing on the expansion of the company's AI applications and the growth of Claude, their generative AI technology.

In his new role, Krieger will direct projects aimed at enhancing consumer experiences, including the recently launched Claude mobile app. He will also manage Anthropic's enterprise services, subscriptions, and software offerings.

“I have always admired Anthropic’s commitment to developing capable and trustworthy AI solutions that empower individuals and broaden the possibilities of technology,” said Krieger in a statement. “I am excited to join this outstanding team at Anthropic and collaborate on designing and scaling transformative products like Claude. The potential of AI to create positive global change is significant, and I am confident that Anthropic possesses the talent, principles, and technology needed to unlock that potential.”

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei echoed this sentiment, saying, “Mike is an exceptional engineer, creator, and leader. His experience in crafting intuitive products and enhancing user experiences will be crucial as we develop innovative ways for users to engage with Claude, especially in professional settings. We are fortunate to welcome Mike's vision and expertise to our leadership team.”

Krieger, alongside fellow co-founder Kevin Systrom, departed Instagram in 2018, just a few years after Meta (formerly Facebook) acquired the platform for $1 billion. Together, they launched Artifact in January 2023, aiming to create recommender systems that curate and suggest news articles, topics, and authors, while also allowing the community to engage with that content.

Initially, Artifact announced plans to cease operations in early 2024, but in April, Yahoo acquired the app for an undisclosed sum. Following the acquisition, Krieger worked with Systrom in an advisory capacity, though that partnership has now concluded.

Krieger’s appointment at Anthropic comes shortly after competitors OpenAI showcased a more conversational and polished experience for its ChatGPT AI chatbot, and Google previewed significant updates to its Gemini chatbot technology during the I/O developer conference. With these developments, Anthropic is positioning itself to aggressively target the consumer market and sees Krieger as a vital asset in achieving that goal.