without Android Google would still be a lovely powerful firm, but nowhere close to as influential as it’s today. In that regard, it owes a deep vote of thanks to Andy Rubin, the man who founded Android as an independent firm manner again in 2003. any longer though, it’ll need to do with out Rubin’s imaginative and prescient.

consistent with The Wall side road Journal, the previous Google Senior vp of cellular and Digital content material is leaving to start out a hardware startup incubator.

In a remark, Google CEO Larry web page thanked Rubin for his carrier.

“I wish to want Andy the entire very best with what’s next,” web page mentioned. “With Android he created something really remarkable-with a billion plus happy users. thank you.”

Rubin firstly joined Google as a part of the corporate’s extremely secretive acquisition of Android in 2005. within the years for the reason that, he’s helped flip it from a startup challenge to the world’s most dominant OS. prior to founding Android, Rubin co-founded threat, the corporate that constructed the Sidekick phone.

considering the fact that 2013, he’s been working in a a ways less public position, taking over “Moonshots” at the firm.

image: Joi Ito by way of Flickr.