Facebook Reality Labs Partnerships VP Hugo Barra has announced departure from the company and will now “explore the healthcare technology space.” Barra was also known for his stint at Xiaomi, the company he left in 2017 due to health concerns. In his recent post, the Meta-owned Facebook Reality Labs Partnerships executive thanked co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and other colleagues Andrew Bosworth (vice president of augmented and virtual reality at Meta) and Mike Schroepfer (chief technology officer at Meta Platforms). Barra has also worked at Google, overseeing Android development before joining Xiaomi.
Speaking about his future, Barra said he would try something “completely different.” Recently, The Verge confirmed that the former Meta executive would be heading Covid testing startup that makes a $50 at-home test. The startup – Detect, tries to analyse the virus’s genetic material, similar to some laboratory tests. It can produce results in an hour, the company claims. In his post on Facebook, he wrote:
“I’ve been thinking a lot about what’s happened in the last year as the world navigates this pandemic. I believe society is still poorly equipped with the tools people need to really understand our health and gain control over our health outcomes. Inspired by this reflection and after working in tech for over 20 years, I’ve decided to try something completely different — to dive into the deep unknown (for me) and explore the healthcare technology space. I hope to be able to apply what I’ve learned from working in the consumer tech industry to help solve meaningful problems in the healthcare world. Looking forward to sharing more soon.”
At Facebook Reality Labs, Barra oversaw the development of Facebook Oculus VR headsets. His departure from the company comes before the official launch of smart glasses co-developed with Ray-Ban. The glasses would hope to add AR capabilities, fulfilling Zuckerberg’s vision of a Metaverse.
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