Update: We have received a statement from Google that confirms Hugo Barra's departure:
Update 2: Barra's taken to Google+ to announce that he will indeed be joining Xiaomi as VP Global in a few weeks. We've added his blog post after the break and have updated the post to reflect the confirmation. Xiaomi has also confirmed the appointment."We wish Hugo Barra the best. We'll miss him at Google and we're excited that he is staying within the Android ecosystem."
Barely a month after he was showing off Google's new Nexus 7 tablet Hugo Barra is departing to join Xiaomi, according to AllThingsD. Part of Google since March 2008, as the Vice President of product management for Android he's been a regular face to anyone that's watched Google I/O events and Nexus product launches over the past few years. With his exit Barra follows Android creator Andy Rubin, who stepped away from the Android team three months earlier. It's a huge score for Xiaomi, a company that goes from strength to strength in China, with smartphones that run on a heavily customized (and customizable) Android ROM. The company's also dabbled in smart TV boxes, which could make for a very familiar role for a former Googler. According to Xiaomi, he will be in charge of steering the company's global expansion starting in October.
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