Instagram co-founder: Zuckerberg saw us as a ‘threat’ to Facebook

When Instagram was acquired for $1 billion in 2012, co-founder Kevin Systrom believed that joining Facebook would help Instagram’s “skyrocketing growth” reach even greater heights. With the help of features like notifications promoting Instagram within Facebook and cross-posting between the apps, Instagram experienced growth, while Facebook saw a neutral effect. “We were a threat to their growth,” Systrom testified. The company initially allocated 300 employees to making video a prominent part of Facebook, while Instagram received no additional headcount. He also described how, years earlier, Zuckerberg suddenly yanked members of the Facebook growth team who had been deployed to help Instagram.