Hugo Barra Leaving Facebook VR

Hugo Barra Departs Facebook's VR Division

After serving as Facebook’s initial VP of VR for four years, Hugo Barra, formerly of Xiaomi, has announced his departure from the company via a social media update on Tuesday.

Barra’s leadership of Facebook’s VR initiatives coincided with a period of significant change for Oculus.

He assumed the role as the formerly independent Oculus was integrated more closely into the larger Facebook organization following the exit of co-founder and CEO Brendan Iribe.

Shift in VR Strategy

During Barra’s tenure, Facebook strategically shifted its focus from PC-connected VR systems to standalone, all-in-one devices.

This transition involved a key collaboration with Xiaomi, Barra’s previous employer, to facilitate the production and scaling of the Oculus Go headset.

The Oculus Go, an entry-level VR offering, has since been discontinued.

Transition and New Ventures

Eventually, Andrew Bosworth, a long-serving Facebook executive, took over Barra’s position leading augmented and virtual reality efforts within Mark Zuckerberg’s leadership team.

Barra subsequently transitioned to a role concentrating on strategic partnerships.

His departure follows the successful launch of the $299 Quest 2 headset, which received favorable reviews, and precedes Facebook’s planned introduction of its first augmented reality smart glasses.

Barra's Reflections and Future Plans

“Five years ago, when Mark Zuckerberg invited me to join Facebook and lead the Oculus team in the realm of virtual reality, I embraced a challenging mission to contribute to the development of the next generation of computing platforms,” Barra stated in a public Facebook post.

“However, I could not have foreseen the remarkable achievements this team would accomplish in such a short timeframe.”

While Barra has not disclosed his next professional endeavor, he indicated that he will be involved in a project within the healthcare technology sector.