Is Xiaomi’s Hugo Barra going back to Google or worse Apple? | HT Tech

Is Xiaomi’s Hugo Barra going back to Google or worse Apple?

The year 2016 has seen stalwarts in companies like Google and Apple quit and move to rival brands such as Uber and Tesla to follow their dream. The trend seems to be continuing in 2017 with Xiaomi’s Hugo Barra making it public on Monday that he will exit the company in February to return to Silicon Valley.

By: HT CORRESPONDENT
| Updated on: Jan 23 2017, 14:53 IST

The year 2016 has seen stalwarts in companies like Google and Apple quit and move to rival brands such as Uber and Tesla to follow their dream. The trend seems to be continuing in 2017 with Xiaomi's Hugo Barra making it public on Monday that he will exit the company in February to return to Silicon Valley.

But why now and where will he join? Barra in an interview on Friday with HT had said that Xiaomi is undergoing transitions and in a Facebook post has said that he wants to go back to the Valley. Hence there is a strong possibility that he might have quit due to the transitions in the company.

Read: Analysis: Why homesick Hugo Barra quit Xiaomi

Chew on this now. Apple and Google all are back trying to extract more revenue from their hardware business, especially Google with its upcoming Pixel 2 after the success of its Pixel launch. Who better than Hugo Barra -- a person who was once the vice president for product management for Android at Google. He is also a fit for Apple as it wants to grow its market share in India and other countries.

Often credited with being the global face for the brand who changed how Xiaomi is seen as a brand, Barra joined Lei Jun and Bin Lin founded Xiaomi in September 2013.

In his Facebook post, Hugo Barra has said that he was behind Xiaomi turning into a full scale company from a startup. He also mentions that he is leaving the company in good hands and in a state that shows that it is in the right track for global expansion.

Read: Xiaomi's Hugo Barra is leaving the company, to move back to Silicon Valley

In the last few days, we have seen Google's Amit Singhal quit and join Uber. Brian McClendon, monikered the father of Google Maps, also had earlier quit to join Uber and drive its self-driving cars initiative. Top executives who have been working on the Apple Car project has quit to join Tesla.

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First Published Date: 23 Jan, 14:48 IST
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