HTC Vive Designer Heading To Google For Daydream VR

Claude Zellweger, head of the HTC Vive’s design team, has announced that he will now be joining Google for Daydream VR. The announcement came just one day after Hugo Barra confirmed that he was leaving Xiaomi to be the VP of VR for Facebook.

Zellweger announced his recruitment to Google on his Twitter page this Thursday. It was also discovered that his HTC email address is no longer active. HTC itself later confirmed the news to The Verge by releasing a statement.

“HTC can confirm that Claude Zellweger has left the Company. We appreciate his considerable contribution to HTC, and wish him well in his future endeavors,” the Taiwan-based company said. “HTC continues to invest in talent and recruitment as part of our broader strategy to ensure the continued strength and integrity of the Company’s organizational structure.”

Although Zellweger himself publicly announced his departure from HTC just this week, a source told Engadget that he actually left the company some time in July 2016. He only stayed within the company because of a grace period.

Zellweger first joined HTC back in 2008 when the company acquired his design agency, One & Co. Before taking the responsibility of designing the HTC Vive VR headset, Zellweger was also one of the people responsible for the original design of the HTC One smartphone.

Zellweger then shifted his focus on the design of the HTC Vive which was first unveiled back in March 2015. Much of his design contributions actually ended up in the final, consumer-ready iteration of the virtual reality headset. The Vive has since been received positively by fans and critics, and it has even been lauded for being more advanced than the Oculus Rift.

With Zellweger joining Google, it’s no surprise that he would be heading to the Daydream design team. Google’s mobile virtual reality platform is new, and it needs someone who’s experienced with both smartphone and VR headset designs on its team to help further its development.