Instagram Co-Founders Resign From Facebook-Owned Company

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Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger are leaving the photo-sharing app bought by Facebook six years ago, they said late Monday, leaving the parent company with a fresh test as it works to quell mounting turmoil.

"Mike and I are grateful for the last eight years at Instagram and six years with the Facebook team," Systrom said in a statement, following a report on the departure in The New York Times.

"We're planning on taking some time off to explore our curiosity and creativity again."

Systrom, 34, created the app in 2010 with 32-year-old Krieger, now the outgoing "chief technical officer," when they were students at Stanford University in the heart of Silicon Valley.


Systrom's fortune is valued at $1.4 billion by Forbes.

"Building new things requires that we step back, understand what inspires us and match that with what the world needs; that's what we plan to do," the statement said -- though several US media outlets attributed the split to a disagreement with executives at Facebook.

"We're now ready for our next chapter," the statement continued.

I guess the world can't wait!