AI Startup Anthropic Welcomes Krishna Rao in the Role of CFO

Krishna Rao, an Indian American strategic finance leader, has been named the Chief Financial Officer of artificial intelligence startup Anthropic. Anthropic announced Rao’s appointment on May 21, highlighting his nearly 20 years of experience in strategic finance roles for customer-centric, high-profile brands, as well as his background as an investor. The company emphasized that Rao will play a crucial role in advancing Anthropic’s enterprise momentum and global growth.

Daniela Amodei, co-founder and President of Anthropic, praised Rao’s appointment, citing his impressive history of driving strategic growth and operational excellence at innovative, mission-driven companies. She highlighted that Rao’s expertise in financial strategy, capital allocation, and scaling high-growth organizations will be crucial as Anthropic expands its footprint and impact. The company is excited to have him join the leadership team and guide Anthropic through its next phase of growth.

Rao expressed enthusiasm about joining Anthropic at a critical juncture, stating his alignment with the company’s mission to develop transformative AI systems for the benefit of humanity. He looks forward to building a strong financial foundation to support Anthropic’s responsible development and deployment of its technology.

Rao transitions to Anthropic from Fanatics Commerce, where he served as CFO. His extensive experience includes leading the finance function and operational initiatives at Cedar, a healthcare payments and patient engagement platform. At Airbnb, Rao held the position of Global Head of Corporate & Business Development and led Corporate and Operations FP&A. During his tenure at Airbnb, he was instrumental in navigating the company through the COVID-19 pandemic and played a key role in raising over $10 billion in equity and debt capital, including the company’s IPO and private financings.

Earlier in his career, Rao was a private equity investor at Blackstone and a strategy consultant at Bain & Company. He holds a JD from Yale Law School and an AB in economics from Harvard College, combining financial expertise, strategic insight, and operational proficiency.

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