Andy Rubin
| Andy Rubin | |
|---|---|
 Rubin at 2008 Google Developer Day in Japan. | |
| Born |
Andrew E. Rubin March 13, 1963 Chappaqua, New York, U.S. |
| Education | Utica College |
| Occupation |
Founder and CEO of Playground Global Partner at Redpoint Ventures. Leads Essential Products |
| Spouse(s) | Rie Rubin |
Andrew E. "Andy" Rubin (born March 13, 1963) is an American computer programmer, engineer, entrepreneur, and venture capitalist. He is the founder and CEO of tech startup incubator Playground Global and a partner at venture capital firm Redpoint Ventures.[1] He is the co-founder and former CEO of both Danger Inc. and Android Inc. Andy and his wife, Rie, also own and operate Voyageur du Temps, a bakery in Los Altos, California.[2][3]
Career
After Android was acquired by Google in 2005,[4] Rubin became the company's senior vice president of mobile and digital content,[5][6] where he oversaw development of Android, an open-source operating system for smartphones.[7] 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.[8][9] In December 2013, Rubin started management of the robotics division of Google (which includes companies bought by Google, such as Boston Dynamics).[10] On October 31, 2014, he left Google after nine years at the company to start an incubator for hardware startups.[11][12][13][14] He now leads Essential Products.
In November 2017, he took a leave of absence from Essential Products after reports of an inappropriate relationship from his time at Google surfaced.[15][16] In December 2017, he returned to Essential Products.[17]
Playground Global
Playground Global is a tech incubator that provides resources, mentorship and funding to startups making hardware devices, specifically to help make advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI).[2][1] Rubin founded the company in 2015 along with Peter Barrett, Matt Hershenson and Bruce Leak.[18] Playground Global has raised a $300 million fund from investors including Google, HP, Foxconn, Redpoint Ventures, Seagate Technology and Tencent, among others.[2][1] It has invested in several companies, including Owl Labs.[19]
Early life and education
Rubin, born in 1963, grew up in Chappaqua, New York, the son of a psychologist who later founded his own direct-marketing firm. His father's firm created photographs of the latest electronic gadgets to be sent with credit card bills.[20] He attended Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua, New York from 1977 until 1981. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from Utica College, Utica, New York, attending from 1981–1986.
He 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.[21]
Career timeline
- Carl Zeiss AG, robotics engineer, 1986–1989.[20]
- Apple Inc., manufacturing engineer, 1989–1992.[20]
- General Magic, engineer, 1992–1995. An Apple spin-off where he participated in developing Magic Cap, an operating system and interface for hand-held mobile devices.[20]
- MSN TV, engineer, 1995–1999. When Magic Cap failed, Rubin joined Artemis Research, founded by Steve Perlman, which became WebTV and was eventually acquired by Microsoft.[20]
- Danger Inc., co-founder, 1999–2003. Founded with Matt Hershenson and Joe Britt. The firm is most notable for the Danger Hiptop, branded for T-Mobile as the Sidekick, which is a phone with PDA-like abilities. The firm was later acquired by Microsoft in February 2008.[20]
- Android Inc., co-founder 2003–2005.[20] Android was acquired by Google in 2005.[4]
- Google, 2005–2014: Senior Vice President in charge of Android for most of his tenure.[20] Since December 2013, managing the robotics division of Google (which includes companies bought by Google, such as Boston Dynamics).[10]
- Playground Global, 2014– present: Founder. This ventures focuses on artificial intelligence and it is creating new generations of hardware.[22]
- Redpoint Ventures, 2015– present: Partner.
- Essential Products, 2015– present: Founder and lead. Rubin launched the Essential phone through this company in late June 2017.[23]
References
- 1 2 3 Barr, Alistair; Wakabayashi, Daisuke (April 6, 2015). "Android Creator Andy Rubin Launching Playground Global". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 25, 2017. (subscription required)
- 1 2 3 Tanz, Jason (February 9, 2016). "Andy Rubin unleashed Android on the world. Now watch him do the same with AI". Wired. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ↑ Schwyzer, Elizabeth. "All aboard the pastry train". Retrieved 2017-11-30.
- 1 2 Elgin, Ben (August 17, 2005). "Google Buys Android for Its Mobile Arsenal". Bloomberg Businessweek. Bloomberg. Archived from the original on February 5, 2011. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ↑ Ion, Florence (March 13, 2013). "Rubin out, Pichai in as Google's new senior vice president of Android". Ars Technica. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ↑ Richmond, Shane (March 13, 2013). "Google Android boss Andy Rubin steps aside". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ↑ Krazit, Tom (May 20, 2009). "Google's Rubin: Android 'a revolution'". CNET. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ↑ Arthur, Charles (March 13, 2013). "Andy Rubin moved from Android to take on 'moonshots' at Google". The Guardian. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ↑ Etherington, Darrell (March 13, 2013). "Sundar Pichai Takes Over For Andy Rubin As Head Of Android At Google, Signals The Unification of Android, Chrome And Apps". TechCrunch. AOL. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- 1 2 Markoff, John (December 14, 2013). "Google Adds to Its Menagerie of Robots". The New York Times. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ↑ Barr, Alistair (October 31, 2014). "Former Android Leader Andy Rubin Leaving Google". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 25, 2017. (subscription required)
- ↑ Lowensohn, Josh (October 30, 2014). "Android creator Andy Rubin is leaving Google". The Verge. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ↑ Wilhelm, Alex (October 30, 2014). "Andy Rubin Is Leaving Google To Start A Hardware Incubator". TechCrunch. AOL. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ↑ Gibbs, Samuel (2014-11-02). "The 'father of Android' leaves Google for new technology hardware startups". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
- ↑ Heater, Brian. "Andy Rubin takes leave from Essential, as reports of an improper relationship at Google surface". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2017-11-29.
- ↑ Wakabayashi, Daisuke (2017-11-29). "Andy Rubin, Android Creator, Steps Away From Firm Amid Misconduct Report". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-11-30.
- ↑ Wang, Jules (December 10, 2017). "Andy Rubin back at Essential, but he never left Playground Global". PocketNow. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
- ↑ Kosoff, Maya (April 6, 2015). "Former Android boss Andy Rubin has raised $48 million to fund hardware companies and joined a VC firm". Business Insider. Axel Springer SE. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ↑ Goode, Lauren (June 21, 2017). "Andy Rubin-backed Owl Labs just launched a robotic video conference camera". The Verge. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Markoff, John (November 4, 2007). "I, Robot: The Man Behind the Google Phone". The New York Times. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ↑ Jeffries, Adrianne (March 19, 2013). "Disconnect: why Andy Rubin and Android called it quits". The Verge. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ↑ Lunden, Ingrid. "Andy Rubin's Playground Ventures is raising another $15M". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
- ↑ "Here's what we know about Andy Rubin's new Essential phone". Recode. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Andy Rubin. |
- "Designing Products Your Customers Will Love", Andy Rubin speaks at Stanford University
- "Android on the March", Financial Post September 17, 2010
- "Android Invasion", Newsweek October 3, 2010