Anthropic, a burgeoning AI startup, has appointed Krishna Rao as its new chief financial officer. With a distinguished 20-year career in strategic finance and investment, Rao is set to steer the company’s financial strategy and support its international growth.

“Krishna’s vast experience with world-class brands and his strategic insight will be instrumental as we advance our enterprise momentum and global expansion,” Anthropic announced on May 21.

Rao transitions to Anthropic from Fanatics Commerce, where he served as CFO. His impressive resume includes key roles at Cedar, a healthcare payments platform, and Airbnb, where he navigated the company through the pandemic and played a pivotal role in securing over $10 billion in capital, including its IPO.

Earlier in his career, Rao worked as 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.

“I am thrilled to join Anthropic at such a pivotal moment,” Rao said. “Anthropic’s mission to build transformative AI systems that benefit humanity deeply resonates with me. I look forward to supporting the company’s responsible development and deployment of its technology.”

Daniela Amodei, co-founder and President of Anthropic, praised Rao’s expertise, noting that his financial acumen and strategic growth experience will be crucial as Anthropic scales its operations and impact globally.