I agree, I think it may have had an issue with a 'per user install'. That being stated, the application shortcut was not loaded into Start | ArcGIS either (which a per user install would do even if the software was loaded to local user \AppData area).
I was able to get it to load by deleting all Pro references in \AppData and the Local, Roaming, areas then right clicking on the install and selecting Run as Administrator.
Of course what is 'different' is that last week when I installed Pro 2.3 'Run as Administrator' was not required (i.e., I'm a local Admin on my machine).
Rich