Carl Pei has left OnePlus, which he founded with Pete Lau. He speaks of ‘following his intuition’ and ‘spending time with family and friends’, but previous reports from sources such as TechCrunch speak of a power struggle within the Chinese company.
In a blog post, Pei states that OnePlus has ‘been his sole focus in recent years’ and that it is therefore high time to see his friends and family again. Pei further expresses his gratitude to Pete Lau, who, according to Pei, “took a chance on a kid without a degree.” Lau is about 14 years older than Pei. He does not say what his next step will be in his work.
According to previous reports from Android Central and TechCrunch, a few days ago, there was a power struggle within OnePlus, Pei has been replaced as the leader of the Nord product line, and he wants to start a new company. However, these media speculate that all this will be kept out of the spotlight in order not to distract from the release of the OnePlus 8T, the latest device, which is now taking place.
The now 31-year-old Pei came into contact with Pete Lau in 2012 and together they founded OnePlus, a subdivision of Oppo, a year later. Lau is still a director of the company. Pei was more the face of the company to the outside world, including regular interviews.