Xiaomi executive Barra joins Facebook

NEW DELHI: Facebook said that it has hired Hugo Barra, the global executive at Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi to lead its virtual reality business including the Oculus unit.

The 32-year-old Facebook founder has spoken about virtual reality as an important part of the company's future business, especially as the technology becomes less expensive and its uses clearer. Facebook acquired Oculus in 2014, believing it to be the next major computing platform.

"I'm excited that Hugo Barra is joining Facebook to lead all of our virtual reality efforts, including our Oculus team. Hugo's in China right now, so here we are together in VR. It seems fitting," said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook Chief Executive on his post.

"I've known Hugo for a long time, starting when he helped develop the Android operating system, to the last few years he's worked at Xiaomi in Beijing bringing innovative devices to millions of people," Zuckerberg said on his Facebook post.

"Hugo shares my belief that virtual and augmented reality will be the next major computing platform. They'll enable us to experience completely new things and be more creative than ever before. Hugo is going to help build that future, and I'm looking forward to having him on our team," he added.

"Thanks, Mark! I can't wait to get started in building that future and join the team in a couple of months. It's been a dream of mine to work in virtual reality even back when AR/VR were just figments of science fiction; now we're taking selfies in virtual worlds :) I learned from Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun that there's no greater calling in our industry than taking breakthrough tech and making it available to the greatest number of people. Really looking forward to doing just that at Facebook — taking VR mainstream — working with you, Brendan, Mike Schroepfer, and the Oculus team," said Barra on his Facebook post.

Earlier this week, Barra said he was stepping down as Xiaomi's vice president after three-and-a-half-years, citing health concerns and a new job.

His exit comes at a time when Xiaomi is trying to adjust its strategy. The company pulled back from several overseas markets, including Singapore and Brazil, in 2016. It is increasing its offline retail presence and aims to develop artificial intelligence and internet finance as growth areas.