Andy Rubin, who co-founded the Android mobile platform in 2003, is bidding adieu to his second home Google after spending nine years with the web company. Rubin's talent was recognized by Google in 2005 when the company acquired Android, which is now the world's largest mobile OS for smartphones. The internet search titan appointed Rubin to take the reigns for the development of Android under Google's watch.
Rubin's departure from Google isn't a sudden move. The Google veteran stepped down as the head of Android in March of last year when Google combined the Android and Chrome teams and put Sundar Pichai in charge. Last week, Pichai was promoted to lead the company's core products and services including search, maps, Google+, commerce, advertising and infrastructure.
Rubin has sketched out his next endeavor in setting up "an incubator for startups interested in building technology-hardware products," The Wall Street Journal reported.
"I want to wish Andy all the best with what's next. With Android he created something truly remarkable - with a billion-plus happy users," Google CEO Larry Page said in a statement, NY Times reported.
After a change of role within Google, Rubin was appointed the lead on the company's robotics team. The decision was made based on Rubin's prior experience and interest in robots. According to The Journal, Rubin's first job was at Carl Zeiss as a robotics engineer and he shared his excitement about leading Google's robotics team as "the world's greatest job."
In order to build the robotics business within Google, Rubin led an acquisition spree that included startups like Boston Dynamics, Bot & Dolly, Redwood Robotics, Meka Robotics and more. It is unclear if Rubin would leave Google immediately or serve as an advisor during the transition period. But a replacement for Rubin has already been found, James Kuffner, who worked alongside Rubin in the robotic arm and served as a research scientist in the company.
