Andy Rubin worked at Apple from 1989 to 1992 as a manufacturing engineer. Rubin was nicknamed "
Android" by his co-workers at
Apple in 1989 due to a love of robots, with the nickname eventually becoming the official name of the Android operating system.
General Magic Rubin joined
General Magic in 1992. He was a lead engineer in the development of the
Motorola Envoy.
Danger Rubin cofounded
Danger, Inc. in 1999, and served as its CEO under which he designed and released the
Hiptop mobile Internet communicator and cell phone aimed at young adults. More popularly known as T-Mobile Sidekick (due to partnership with carrier
T-Mobile US), the device achieved cult popularity. Shortly after the Hiptop's launch, Rubin's CEO role was replaced and he remained solely as president and chief strategy officer. He left the company in early 2004 for his next startup, Android, Inc.
Google After Android was acquired by
Google in 2005, Rubin became the company's senior vice president of mobile and digital content, where he oversaw development of
Android, an
open-source operating system for
smartphones. On March 13, 2013,
Larry Page announced in a blog post that Rubin had moved from the Android division to take on new projects at Google, with
Sundar Pichai taking over Android. In December 2013, Rubin started management of the robotics division of Google (including companies such as
Boston Dynamics, which Google owned at the time). On October 31, 2014, Rubin left Google after nine years at the company to start a venture capital firm for technology startups.
Sexual harassment allegations According to
The New York Times, while the departure was presented to the media as an amicable one where Rubin would spend more time on philanthropy and start-ups, CEO Larry Page personally asked for Rubin's resignation after a
sexual harassment claim by an employee against Rubin was found to be credible during an investigation by Google. The employee, with whom Rubin had an extramarital relationship, accused him of coercing her into
oral sex in a hotel room in 2013. Rubin strongly disputed these reports and denied wrongdoing, stating, "these false allegations are part of a smear campaign to disparage me during a divorce and custody battle." Page ultimately decided that Rubin would have to leave due to the inappropriate relationship. Rubin had considerable leverage in negotiating his exit, due to his position as a senior executive as well as recently receiving a $150 million stock grant from the board of directors for his past work on Android. If Rubin filed a wrongful termination lawsuit this would have meant unwanted press attention for Google and the victims of the misconduct, and losing such a lawsuit would result in Google being liable for significant damages. Since Rubin would have still been highly sought after as a technology visionary, Google included a
non-compete clause in his severance agreement and also invested in his next venture. The incident, among others, led to the
2018 Google walkouts from Google's employee workforce over Rubin reportedly receiving a $90 million "
exit package" to expedite his separation from the company. Google responded by sending a memo to employees saying no employees dismissed due to sexual harassment concerns after 2016 had received payouts.
After Google After being forced out of Google, Rubin founded
Playground Global in 2015 along with Peter Barrett, Matt Hershenson and Bruce Leak. The company is a
venture capital firm and studio for technology start-ups, providing funding, resources, and mentorship. In 2015, Playground Global raised a $300 million fund from investors including
Google,
HP,
Foxconn,
Redpoint Ventures,
Seagate Technology and
Tencent, among others. Rubin left Playground Global in May 2019. In December 2017, he returned to Essential Products. Rubin and his ex-wife, Rie Hirabaru Rubin, owned and operated Voyageur du Temps, a bakery and cafe in
Los Altos, California, which closed in September 2018.
Timeline •
Carl Zeiss AG, robotics
engineer, 1986–1989. Founder. This ventures focuses on artificial intelligence and it is creating new generations of hardware. •
Redpoint Ventures, 2015–2017: ==References==