- BuzzFeed reported Friday that Andy Rubin, the Android founder accused of sexual misconduct, quietly left his venture firm Playground Global in May with an exit package larger than $9 million.
- Rubin also resigned as senior vice president at Google with a generous $90 million exit package in 2014 after being accused of forcing his subordinate into sexual acts.
- The Google payout prompted massive employee demonstrations at Google last year calling for Rubin’s exit package to be revoked. The ramifications of employee-organized walkouts continue to play out among the search giant’s global employee base.
- On Tuesday, Rubin tweeted images teasing a new phone from his company Essential, cementing his attempt to return to tech’s upper echelons.
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On Friday, BuzzFeed News’ Ryan Mac reported that Andy Rubin, the Google executive ousted in 2014 after being accused of sexual misconduct, has quietly departed his venture capital firm Playground Global.
He’s still involved with Essential, the smartphone company he founded during his time at Playground – and, in fact, Essential and Playground are both headquartered in the same building, according to reports.
According to BuzzFeed, Rubin left Playground Global in May with an exit package larger that $9 million. Rubin reportedly was paid $90 million as part of his exit package at Google according to an October 2018 New York Times report.
“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,” Rubin said in a statement on Friday afternoon.
Playground did not return Business Insider's request for comment in time for publication.
Rubin has previously denied the sexual misconduct accusations against him, calling them "false allegations" that are part of "a smear campaign."
BuzzFeed reported that a letter announcing Rubin's departure from Playground was sent to investors and the firm's leadership, but rank and file employees were not aware of his departure and subsequent compensation. Rubin is still listed on Playground's website as the founding partner, but a spokesman for the firm would not comment on the details surrounding his departure or continued involvement with the firm.
Rubin created the Android operating system that now runs on roughly 80% of the world's smartphones, and he led Google's mobile business for years.
Rubin was accused of forcing his subordinate into sexual acts at Google in 2014, but reports of Google executives' efforts to provide Rubin with a "golden parachute" prompted massive backlash from Google's global workforce. Google is still dealing with the ramifications of protests, walkouts, and employee backlash as demonstrations continue.
This all comes as Rubin attempted to reenter the top echelons of tech society on Tuesday by tweeting images of his other company Essential's new phone. The Android creator had been largely silent on social media following the public backlash aimed at his former employer before tweeting videos of the new phones from Essential's offices, which are in the same building as Playground, according to BuzzFeed.