TL;DR
Anthropic is reshuffling its product leadership as Mike Krieger leaves the chief product officer role to co-lead a growing internal incubator called Labs. The move shifts operational product scaling to Ami Vora while the company expands the Labs team to pursue experimental products and hopes to double its size within six months.
What happened
Mike Krieger, the Instagram co-founder who joined Anthropic two years ago as chief product officer, is changing roles to join and co-lead Anthropic’s internal incubator, the Labs team. Krieger will take a technical staff title and report to Anthropic president Daniela Amodei; he will run Labs alongside Ben Mann, the company’s product engineering lead. The Labs effort began in mid‑2024 with only two members and is being expanded to focus on building experimental products. Ami Vora, currently the company’s head of product, will assume Krieger’s product responsibilities and collaborate with CTO Rahul Patil to scale Anthropic’s offerings, including the Claude model. Anthropic said it aims to double the Labs headcount over the next six months. The leadership shift arrives amid intense competition across the AI sector as established tech firms and startups jockey for differentiation.
Why it matters
- Signals Anthropic’s strategic pivot toward hands‑on product experimentation rather than solely scaling existing offerings.
- Moving a high‑profile CPO into an incubator role highlights priority on rapid prototyping at the company’s frontier of AI development.
- Handing operational scaling to Ami Vora and CTO Rahul Patil centralizes product scale responsibilities in a new leadership pairing.
- Planned expansion of Labs could accelerate new product ideas that influence how Anthropic’s Claude model is applied.
Key facts
- Mike Krieger joined Anthropic two years ago as chief product officer and is a co‑founder of Instagram.
- Krieger will now serve as a member of technical staff reporting to Anthropic president Daniela Amodei.
- Krieger will co‑lead the Labs team with Ben Mann, Anthropic’s product engineering lead.
- The Labs team launched in mid‑2024 with two members and is being expanded to build experimental products.
- Anthropic aims to double the number of people on the Labs team within the next six months.
- Ami Vora, the company’s current head of product, will take over Krieger’s duties and work with CTO Rahul Patil to scale products.
- The company specifically cited scaling Claude as part of the product scaling effort.
- The leadership changes come as competition in AI increases among startups and major tech firms.
What to watch next
- Whether Anthropic achieves its goal of doubling the Labs headcount within six months (not confirmed in the source).
- What experimental products emerge from the expanded Labs team and how they relate to Claude (not confirmed in the source).
- How product scaling under Ami Vora and CTO Rahul Patil affects Anthropic’s commercial offerings and roadmap (not confirmed in the source).
Quick glossary
- Internal incubator (Labs): A small, dedicated team within a company focused on quickly prototyping and testing new product ideas before wider development or launch.
- Chief Product Officer (CPO): An executive responsible for product strategy, development, and management across an organization.
- Claude: The name used by Anthropic for one of its AI models and product lines.
- Member of Technical Staff: A technical role focused on hands‑on engineering or product work, often reporting into senior technical or product leadership.
- Artificial General Intelligence (AGI): A theoretical form of AI that can perform any intellectual task a human can; the term is used broadly across the industry.
Reader FAQ
Why is Mike Krieger leaving the chief product officer role?
He is shifting to a hands‑on role co‑leading the Labs incubator to focus on building experimental products; this rationale was stated by Krieger to The Verge.
Who will run product scaling at Anthropic after the change?
Ami Vora will take over Krieger’s product duties and will work closely with CTO Rahul Patil to scale products.
How large is the Labs team now and what's the growth plan?
Labs began in mid‑2024 with two members; Anthropic said it hopes to double the team within six months.
Will these changes affect Anthropic’s Claude model roadmap?
The source says Ami Vora will help scale Claude, but specific roadmap changes are not detailed in the source.
AI NEWS ANTHROPIC Anthropic shakes up C-suite to expand its internal incubator Chief product officer Mike Krieger will change roles and join the “Labs” team. by Hayden Field Jan 13,…
Sources
- Anthropic shakes up C-suite to expand its internal incubator
- Anthropic expands global leadership in enterprise AI …
- Anthropic CEO Braces His Employees for AI to Change …
- Anthropic expands global reach with new leadership, offices
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