Andy Rubin, the co-founder of Android, has left Google. He will spend his time in an incubator for start-up companies involved in the design of robots. At Google, Rubin had been working on robotics technology for some time.
Google has confirmed Rubin’s departure after The Wall Street Journal reported on it. Rubin was the co-founder of the Android company, which was acquired by Google in 2005. In the eight years that followed, during which Android became the market leader in mobile operating systems, Rubin continued to lead Google’s Android division.
Last year, Rubin traded that position for the leadership of Google’s new robot division. When Rubin led the department, it took over several robot companies, including Boston Dynamics, which developed robots for the US military, among other things. Rubin’s role in Google’s robotics division will be taken over by James Kuffner, a researcher in that division.
It is not yet entirely clear why Rubin is leaving. According to a generally well-informed American tech journalist, Jessica Lessin, thought Rubin that his robotics division at Google was not operating independently enough from Google. That would explain why he is now setting up an incubator, a kind of breeding ground, for start-ups in the field of robotics. Rubin himself says that he simply wanted to do something new. However, according to analyst firm IDC, Rubin may have been forced to leave.
It’s not the only change at the top at Google. Last week, Google CEO Larry Page announced that he would transfer a large part of his tasks to Sunder Pichai, who was already in charge of Android and Chrome. In doing so, Page could focus more on the bigger picture and would keep in charge of Google X and Nest.