Disgraced Google Exec Andy Rubin Quietly Left His Venture Firm Earlier This Year

Andy Rubin, the former Google senior vice president whose $90 million exit package caused a worldwide employee walkout at the search giant last year, quietly left Playground Global, the venture firm he founded in May, BuzzFeed News reported today citing internal documents. From the report: The revelation comes as Rubin, who was accused of coercing a subordinate into sexual acts while at Google before being given a hero's send-off in 2014, attempts to make a public comeback with Essential Products, the mobile device company he founded. On Tuesday, Rubin tweeted images of Essential's new phones, some of his first public statements since late 2018 when news broke on the circumstances surrounding his exit from Google. Those circumstances caused an uproar at Google, which was already dealing with several stories of executive harassment and misbehavior, and provided direct proof that Larry Page, the CEO of Google parent company Alphabet, and his board members had intentionally tried to cover up misdeeds at the top.

Not only were Google executives aware of allegations of sexual misconduct at the time of Rubin's exit, but they failed to notify employees, lauded him in a departure announcement, and sent him off with a $90 million exit package. Rubin's departure from Playground was also accompanied by a payout, with a source familiar placing the amount at more than $9 million. Documents related to his exit, which were seen by some investors and the company's leadership, but not all of Playground's staff, were reviewed by BuzzFeed News.