Anthropic CPO leaves Figma’s board after reports he will offer a competing product
Mike Krieger's resignation signals Anthropic's direct move into the $10B design software market.
Anthropic Chief Product Officer Mike Krieger, the former Instagram co-founder, resigned from the board of design software giant Figma on April 14. The departure was disclosed in an SEC filing the same day The Information reported that Anthropic's upcoming flagship model, Opus 4.7, will include built-in design tools that could directly compete with Figma's primary interface design platform. This creates an immediate conflict of interest, as Figma has been a close collaborator, integrating Anthropic's AI models as assistants for its users. Krieger had joined the Figma board less than a year ago after becoming Anthropic's top product executive in 2024.
Krieger's exit is a stark signal of Anthropic's strategic pivot from AI model provider to a potential software competitor. This move feeds into the growing investor thesis of a 'SaaSpocalypse'—the fear that frontier AI labs with ultra-capable models will come to dominate and disrupt traditional software businesses. This anxiety has rocked public markets, with the iShares software ETF (IGV) down nearly 18% this year. Despite the market turbulence, Anthropic's perceived threat is fueling its valuation, with reports it is turning down investment at an $800 billion figure, more than double its valuation from earlier this year. However, the success of such a move is unproven, as companies like Anthropic and OpenAI must still demonstrate their models can replicate the deep domain expertise and user relationships of established brands like Figma.
- Anthropic CPO Mike Krieger resigned from Figma's board on April 14, signaling a conflict as Anthropic's Opus 4.7 model will include competing design tools.
- The move intensifies investor fears of a 'SaaSpocalypse,' where AI labs disrupt software incumbents, contributing to an 18% drop in the software ETF IGV this year.
- Anthropic is reportedly turning down investment at an $800B valuation, while Figma's stock price rose 5% following the board departure disclosure.
Why It Matters
This marks a pivotal shift where top AI labs are moving from being infrastructure providers to direct competitors of the software companies that use their models.