President Obama highlighted the story of Brazil-born Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger during an address on comprehensive immigration reform Tuesday
"Instagram was started with the help of an immigrant who studied here and that stayed here," said Obama, referencing Krieger while making the argument that many immigrants benefit the U.S. economy. "Right now in one of those classrooms there's a student wrestling with how to turn their big idea, their Intel or Instagram into a big business."
Krieger was born in Sao Paulo and moved to California in 2004 to pursue an education in computer science and cognitive science at Stanford University. After he graduated, he worked for a year on an F-1 student visa. He later applied for and received an H-1B high-skilled worker visa, according to his White House biography.
Krieger joined with fellow Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom to launch the company in 2010. It was acquired by Facebook for $1 billion in cash and stock in April 2012.
