Andy Rubin is perhaps one of the most controversial figures in the tech industry. Known for his genius that saw him hailed as the Father of Android while working at Google, Rubin left the technology giant in 2014 to set up his own tech incubator, Playground Global. It was later discovered that his departure from the company was brought on by sexual misconduct. Apparently, Rubin has now left Playground Global as well.
According to a Buzzfeed report, Rubin was actually asked to leave from Playground. However, he begs to differ. As per Rubin’s statement to The Verge:
Playground Global bought out my interests earlier this year when the noise around my divorce and departure from Google made it difficult to focus on the tasks at hand. Playground is still an investor in Essential and we’re continuing to innovate.
The noise in question being allegations of sexual harassment at Google, which came out once Rubin had left the company, taking with him a golden parachute of almost $90 million.
The fact that this was kept quite for years prompted protests at Google offices across the globe, including the Walkout for change, where more than 20,000 Googlers participated. Rubin continues to face flak for his misdemeanors at Google.
Responding to these allegations, Rubin said:
1/2 The New York Times story contains numerous inaccuracies about my employment at Google and wild exaggerations about my compensation. Specifically, I never coerced a woman to have sex in a hotel room. These false allegations are part of a smear campaign.
Apparently, Rubin received a $9 million payout from Playground as well, although, it is yet to be ascertained whether it is his investments or the parachute. Meanwhile, he is probably going to see a lot of his colleagues at Playground, since Essential (his smartphone startup) and Playground both share their offices in the same building.
