Mike Krieger, who serves as Anthropic's chief product officer, stepped down from his position on the board of the interface design firm Figma on April 14. Figma, a publicly traded company valued at $10 billion, reported his resignation to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that same day. Coincidentally, this news emerged alongside a report from the Information that Anthropic's upcoming model, Opus 4.7, will incorporate design features potentially rivaling Figma's core product.

Figma is known for its widely-used tool that helps user experience designers create interfaces for websites and applications. The company has maintained a close partnership with Anthropic, integrating the AI lab's advanced models into its software to act as assistants for users.

Krieger, the former co-founder of Instagram and the AI-driven news application Artifact, took on the role of top product executive at Anthropic in 2024. He had joined Figma's board less than a year before his departure.

His exit and the potential introduction of competing design tools add to the concerns of some investors who worry about a "SAASpocalypse"—the idea that leading AI labs might eventually overshadow traditional software businesses. This fear has periodically unsettled public markets throughout the year. For instance, the iShares software ETF, IGV, has declined by almost 18% year-to-date.

Meanwhile, Anthropic is reportedly declining investment offers at an $800 billion valuation, which is more than double the company's valuation from its most recent funding round at the start of the year. However, firms like Anthropic and OpenAI still face the challenge of demonstrating that their highly capable models can genuinely match the specialized expertise and established client relationships of long-standing software companies.

Since the announcement of Krieger's departure, Figma's stock price has increased by 5%. The market's reaction to the next Opus release remains to be seen.