“It’s the Lifeblood of Our Business”: Anthropic’s Indian-Origin CFO Krishna Rao on Compute, AI Growth, and the Road to Scale

Krishna Rao, CFO at Anthropic, brings a career spanning some of the most prominent global brands in the investment and technology ecosystem. Over the years, he has worked with companies such as Bain & Company, Airbnb, Cedar, and Fanatics Commerce. As Anthropic’s first CFO, he is expected to play a crucial role in shaping the company’s financial strategy and capital allocation during its next phase of high growth.

Anthropic is preparing for a potential IPO, and even before going public, the company has reached a valuation of around $90 billion. Once it goes public, Rao will be responsible for steering Anthropic through the complex and often volatile conditions of the tech industry. However, the path to an IPO is not without challenges, as the company has been grappling with infrastructure constraints and surging demand, prompting executives to rapidly scale up computing resources. Recently, Rao spoke with Patrick O’Shaughnessy about Anthropic’s trajectory and its future prospects.

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The Question of Compute

One of the first questions Rao addressed during the podcast was how Anthropic manages computing power and allocates it across different tasks. He explained that balancing compute across various functions is a central part of his role.

He said,

“Look, the compute that we procure is the lifeblood of our business. It is the most important thing in the company. It is the canvas on which everything else gets built. And so the decisions we make on how much compute to buy are some of the most consequential and hardest decisions to make in the entire company.”

He further added that he currently spends around 30% to 40% of his time on compute-related decisions. Rao noted that Anthropic operates across multiple chip platforms and uses compute for both internal and external applications. This flexibility did not develop overnight. He explained that the company initially began using third-generation TPUs and has since invested heavily in optimising how compute is allocated across workloads.

Rao also revealed that Anthropic has signed a 5-gigawatt deal with Google and Broadcom for TPUs starting in 2027. He added that the company has also signed a deal with Amazon for Trainium chips for up to 5 gigawatts, describing it as part of a broader commitment worth over $100 billion. He noted that a significant portion of this compute is already being deployed and will continue rolling out throughout the year.

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Mythos and Articulating the Risks

Rao also spoke in detail about the potential of emerging technologies and how they could transform daily life, from treating rare diseases to improving living standards and driving broader societal progress. He said what excites him most is the possibility of AI delivering tangible, real-world benefits over time.

At the same time, he emphasised the importance of acknowledging risks. He said,

“I think on the other side though, we do, and this is again cultural to us, like we do want to articulate the risks. I don’t think we should just tell everyone everything is going to be great because there are likely to be bumps on the road.”

He added that people tend to trust more balanced perspectives rather than overly optimistic narratives. According to him, transparency about both progress and challenges is essential, especially when technological change happens rapidly. He also noted that during periods of rapid transformation, issues can emerge, particularly when change is compressed over short timeframes.

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Towards the end of the podcast, host Patrick O’Shaughnessy asked Rao about the kindest thing anyone has ever done for him.

Rao reflected on his early life in California, where he grew up in a middle-class family. He spoke about his elder brother, who is five years older, explaining how he cleared admissions for every college they both applied to but ultimately chose to attend a state college instead.