Anthropic's Chief Product Officer Mike Krieger resigned from the board of Figma on April 14, following reports that his company plans to launch design tools capable of competing with Figma's core offerings. The resignation was disclosed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by Figma, a publicly traded software company valued at $10 billion, coinciding with a report by The Information that Anthropic's upcoming Opus 4.7 model will include built-in design features. Figma is a widely used platform enabling user experience designers to build interfaces for websites and applications. Prior to this news, Figma had maintained a close partnership with Anthropic to integrate the AI lab's models as assistants for its users. Krieger, who previously co-founded Instagram and the AI-powered news application Artifact, joined Anthropic as its top product executive in 2024 and took a seat on Figma's board less than a year ago. His departure marks a significant shift in the relationship between the two firms. Investors are closely watching these developments amid concerns known as the SaaSpocalypse, a market thesis suggesting that major AI laboratories will eventually dominate established software businesses. This sentiment has contributed to volatility in the sector, with the iShares Global Software ETF dropping nearly 18% this year. Despite the turbulence, Anthropic continues to attract high demand, reportedly turning down investors willing to value the company at $800 billion. This figure represents more than double the valuation from its most recent funding round earlier in the year. However, industry analysts note that companies like Anthropic and OpenAI must still prove that their advanced models can fully replicate the specialized domain expertise and user relationships cultivated by long-standing software brands like Figma. Following the disclosure of Krieger's resignation, Figma's stock price rose by 5%. The market reaction suggests initial optimism regarding Figma's position, though future performance will likely depend on the capabilities of the upcoming Opus release. The situation highlights the growing tension between specialized software vendors and generalist AI models seeking to absorb entire verticals. While AI integration has historically enhanced productivity within tools like Figma, the potential emergence of a direct competitor from within the AI sector poses a fundamental challenge to the traditional software business model. The outcome of this rivalry will serve as a key test case for how deeply AI can reshape the software landscape and influence investor confidence in the technology sector.