Anthropic announced Krishna Rao as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Bringing nearly two decades of experience as a strategic finance leader for renowned customer-centric brands and as an investor, Krishna is set to play a pivotal role in shaping Anthropic’s financial strategy and operations. His expertise will be instrumental as we continue to build on our strong enterprise momentum and advance our international expansion efforts.
Krishna joins us from Fanatics Commerce, where he served as CFO. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing all financial operations, driving strategic financial planning, and ensuring robust fiscal management. At Cedar, a healthcare payments and patient engagement platform, Krishna led both the finance function and operational initiatives as the company’s CFO. His tenure at Airbnb as Global Head of Corporate & Business Development and leader of Corporate and Operations FP&A saw him navigate the company through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, raising over $10 billion in equity and debt capital, including the company’s IPO and private financings.
Earlier in his career, Krishna gained valuable experience as a private equity investor at Blackstone and as a strategy consultant at Bain & Company. He holds a J.D. from Yale Law School and an A.B. in economics from Harvard College. This unique combination of financial acumen, strategic thinking, and operational expertise positions Krishna as a significant asset to Anthropic.
“I am thrilled to join Anthropic at such a pivotal moment in the company’s journey,” said Krishna. “Anthropic’s mission to build transformative AI systems that benefit humanity deeply resonates with me. I look forward to working with the exceptional team at Anthropic to build a strong financial foundation that will support the responsible development and deployment of our technology.”
Anthropic has raised significant investments from tech giants Google and Amazon, alongside other venture capital firms, positioning it strongly in the competitive AI landscape. The company’s Claude AI models are vying for prominence against Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s GPT series. Krishna’s appointment underscores Anthropic’s commitment to scaling its operations and enhancing its financial governance to support its ambitious growth plans.
“Krishna is a world-class financial leader with an impressive history of driving strategic growth and operational excellence at innovative, mission-driven companies,” said Daniela Amodei, co-founder and President of Anthropic. “As we continue to grow our footprint and expand our impact, Krishna’s deep expertise in financial strategy and analysis, capital allocation, and scaling high-growth organizations will be essential. We’re thrilled to have him join our leadership team and help guide Anthropic through our next phase of growth.”
Anthropic is focused on advancing AI safety and research, addressing critical ethical and security concerns associated with AI technologies. With Krishna Rao onboard, the company aims to strengthen its financial infrastructure and support its mission to develop AI systems that are transparent, secure, and beneficial to humanity. The appointment of such an experienced CFO is a strategic move that will help Anthropic navigate the complexities of the AI industry and achieve its long-term objectives.
