Facebook poaches Google's ATAP lead to head its new hardware division
Regina Dugan – who ran Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects division – has joined Facebook.
Dugan will be heading up Building 8, a new Facebook group that CEO Mark Zuckerberg says will be “focused on building new hardware products to advance our mission of connecting the world.”
Zuckerberg wrote:
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I’m excited to announce that we've started a new group at Facebook called Building 8 focused on building new hardware products to advance our mission of connecting the world.
This team will be led by
, who most recently led the Advanced Technology and Projects group at Google, and before that was the Director of DARPA (
).
I'm excited to have Regina apply DARPA-style breakthrough development at the intersection of science and products to our mission. This method is characterized by aggressive, fixed timelines, extensive use of partnerships with universities, small and large businesses, and clear objectives for shipping products at scale.
We'll be investing hundreds of people and hundreds of millions of dollars into this effort over the next few years. I'm excited to see breakthroughs on our 10 year roadmap in augmented and virtual reality, artificial intelligence, connectivity and other important areas.
Welcome to Facebook, Regina!
At Google, Dugan led ATAP – which started out as a division of Motorola. When Motorola was sold to Lenovo in 2014, ATAP moved back to Google proper. Even after the Alphabet shakeup last year, ATAP remained part of Google.
Dugan’s mission at ATAP was to “do some epic shit” (her words) and she oversaw stuff like Project Tango as well as smart fabrics and modular phones. Last year, ATAP launched Project Fi, Google’s first efforts at becoming a wireless carrier.
Dugan commented on her new move, naturally, on Facebook. Calling the decision "bittersweet" and writing that "a part of me will always be in ATAP."
She wrote:
Today is a bittersweet day for me.
I am on the one hand, tremendously excited. Building 8 is an opportunity to do what I love most... tech infused with a sense of our humanity. Audacious science delivered at scale in products that feel almost magic. A little badass. And beautiful. There is much to build at Facebook… and the mission is human… compelling.
On the other hand, I am sad to leave the pirates of ATAP. Each of our efforts to create new, seemingly impossible products, has been faced with intense challenges along the way. Technical challenges. Organizational challenges. Challenges that might have broken lesser teams. This is the type of work we signed up for when we built ATAP. It is terrifying because it means we have to face our fear of failure, stare it down, more days than most. So be it.
A friend of mine sent me the poem below, by Victor Hugo. It reminded me of you. Because you are the bold ones. And I couldn't be more proud.
The centuries-old pilgrimage centered on El Camino de Santiago ends at the westernmost part of Spain. The most emblematic ritual for finishers of the pilgrimage is to leave behind something that one took on the journey. One woman, it is said, left behind her boots, a pair that had lasted her on so many tough roads.
I couldn't decide what to leave behind. And then I realized, there's nothing to decide. A part of me will always be in ATAP. It’s in what we built together.
As is our tradition, I wish you all fair winds and following seas. Make some epic sh*t. I’ll be watching.
As ever,
Regina
In a statement to The Verge, Google said “we thank Regina Dugan for all her leadership and contributions as part of the Advanced Technology and Projects group, and wish her the very best.”
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