In somewhat shocking news, the last co-founder of Oculus is out of the company after a successful 7 years with the company. There have been rumblings of this happening for some time now, but Nate’s most recent Redit post confirmed everything we needed to know. You can check out the official statement below.
“Hey everyone — I have some bittersweet news to share with this community. After 7 incredible years, I’ve decided to move on from Oculus / Facebook.
When we posted the Kickstarter in 2012, VR was mostly the stuff of science fiction. We didn’t know if people would take us seriously. We weren’t even sure we’d hit our original $250k target. But this community from around the world came together and helped make VR a reality. Fast forward just a few years later, and VR is changing people’s lives every day. This is because of you.
Virtual reality is still on the bleeding edge of technology, and this community continues to pioneer the way forward. What’s ahead is always unknown, and that’s what makes it exciting. Stay bold and keep chasing the future.
What’s next for me: I’m taking time to travel, be with family, and recharge. Of course, I’ll still be part of this community, but I’ll have a much smaller role to play.
I expect the incredible team at Facebook to continue to surprise and delight us on this mission to build the next computing platform. I can’t wait to see what comes next.
To everyone here: Thank you for your passion and creativity. Thank you for believing in the impossible. Thank you for inspiring us everyday.
Thanks for 7 amazing years.
Nate
P.S. Pic is from Oculus Connect 2 in 2015, one of my fondest memories of this whole adventure.”
In this releasing statement he notes that when he started with Oculus as a startup back in 2014, VR was just getting started. Facebook bought Oculus when it was still a startup back in 2014 for more than $2 billion. Now, facebook is looking to add to the biggest and best array of AR and VR headsets in the market this fall. The founders of Oculus had clearly run their course in the business and were ready to jump out at any time. They made the generational money that they had been hoping for, and now they are ready to stop being in charge of big decisions.
Oculus and Facebook have generally shared the same vision for the company’s future, and this split seems amicable. He notes that it is time to give back and be with his family, travel, and of course be a part of the ever-growing virtual reality community. In hinting at the future, Mitchell notes that Facebook may surprise us all with what is to come. If the co-founder of Oculus is excited, it is pretty good reason for VR junkies to be excited as well.
Oculus Connect 6 from Facebook is just around the corner, and we are expecting massive announcements from the company. We know the Oculus Quest wrapped up this last generation of VR, and September is the opening of the next generation. Not only is VR going to be launched forward with the help of Oculus and Facebook, but AR might finally be a low-end consumer technology. Facebook is playing their cards close to their chest on this one, but expect some leaks to be discovered in the weeks leading up to the event. For more AR and VR news, make sure to check back at VRGear.com.
