Former Android head, Andy Rubin, leaves Google

Late last year Andy Rubin, Android’s co-founder, stepped down from his position as leader of our favorite mobile OS and handed the reigns over to the capable hands of Sundar Pichai. Following this move, Rubin took over as head of Google’s robotic efforts, a position he’s occupied ever since. Today it was announced that Rubin is making yet another move, this time away from Google altogether.

According to Google, Andy’s new goal is to start an incubator for startups interested in building technology-hardware products. While the details for his new ambition are a bit vague, that’s really all we know for now. In a statement, Larry Page wished Rubin the best, and thanked him for all his efforts at Google:

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. Thank you.

As for the future of Google’s robotic arm, Google says it remains as dedicated as ever and is placing James Kuffner, a research scientist at Google, as the new head of the robotics group.

While Rubin hadn’t been part of the Android world for about a year now, it still seems a bit odd to think of him as no longer part of Google. Either way, we wish him the best and thank him for all he did during his time running Android and beyond. What do you think of Andy Rubin’s departure from the company? Surprised, or did you see this one coming after he stepped down as head of Android?