The enigmatic public perception of the Android creator captured attention not only from wary journalists but also from his colleagues. Figures such as Steve Jobs, when speaking about Rubin in the name Rubin, described him with sharp candor as someone with a formidable ego, while Eric Schmidt once called him a deviant genius. Rubin’s personality surfaced in many ways, yet the most provocative and controversial aspect was his fixation with sex.
Details of Rubin’s private life began to surface prominently in 2018, when The New York Times published an extensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding his departure from Google. The founder of Android left Google in 2014 after heading the robotics division for a year, later stating that he moved on to build his own startup incubator. The official narrative framed his exit as a normal career pivot.
According to the NYT report, Larry Page, one of Google’s founders, asked Rubin to leave the company in 2013 after concerns emerged about inappropriate conduct involving a junior Google employee. At that time Rubin had already faced disciplinary action for improper use of a work computer, including viewing pornographic material and failing to meet the standards expected within the company.
Rubin was married to a Japanese colleague, Rie Hirabaru, whom he met while at Google. She paused her own career to focus on family life, while Rubin reportedly maintained relationships with colleagues even after marriage. In an interview with the NYT, Hirabaru described Rubin as managing a secret personal fund that supported a network of intimate relationships. Journalists also obtained screenshots of personal messages tied to these arrangements.
“You will be happy when I take care of you. You will be my property and I will lend you to others,” one message allegedly read, highlighting the troubling tone of some exchanges.
sex club
Following the NYT report, other media outlets uncovered additional details about Rubin’s private life. A BuzzFeed News report from 2019 echoed the notion of a controlling dynamic, citing testimony from a woman identified as “M,” who reportedly participated in a private network established by Rubin. According to her testimony, Rubin offered various sexual arrangements in exchange for payment, and those experiences were recorded for the developer and his circle. The accounts describe Rubin engaging in activities that extended beyond solitary behavior and included involvement with others in a cooperative setting.
How many participants were involved remains unclear. It is suggested that Rubin funded the women involved and that arrangements allowed for continued involvement with other partners. Instances of group interactions were described as occurring with regularity. Some speculation linked the participants to other senior Google executives, though corroboration for those connections remains contested. The broader discussion around his severance package, reported to reach significant levels, sparked speculation about the reasons behind continued silence from involved parties.
Rubin has consistently denied the most serious allegations or stated that certain accounts were exaggerated. He attributed much of the scrutiny to personal conflicts with Hirabaru, who later pursued legal action. Hirabaru has claimed that a prenuptial agreement limited her ability to claim personal funds during divorce proceedings.
steel passions
Rubin’s interests extended beyond people to his fascination with machines. The Android founder was described as an unusually eccentric innovator with a lifelong obsession for robotics. In profiles, he is depicted as a drove-spirited engineer known for a shaved head, dark attire, and distinctive glasses. While he is celebrated globally for creating Android, insiders note that his enthusiasm for automata set him apart in Silicon Valley.
Earlier in his career, Rubin worked at WebTV, a company focused on Internet-enabled set-top boxes. There, he developed a wheeled robot equipped with a camera, microphone, and remote control. Some colleagues reportedly perceived his experiments as invasive, and the robot became the subject of internal scrutiny when it appeared to spy on coworkers. This episode fed ongoing conversations about the ethical implications of robotics in the workplace.
After Google acquired Android, Rubin outfitted his California home with a retina-scanning doorbell. If a guest wasn’t recognized, a robotic arm would issue a notification and emit a gong. He joked that the system was meant to guard against ex-partners, while a similar setup appeared at the Google campus. There, an automated arm sometimes caused spills of coffee when text messages about the feature were sent. These anecdotes illustrate Rubin’s willingness to blend humor with high-concept technology.
The apex of Rubin’s robotics immersion came with his appointment to lead Google’s robotics initiatives. He even nicknamed his division Replicant, a playful nod to a famous science fiction franchise. The joke did not land equally well with everyone, and some observers wondered aloud whether his grand ambitions could push robotics toward more ambitious horizons than most expected.
In recent years, Rubin has remained based in California, continuing to invest in technology startups and maintaining his own venture, Simple Things, which builds software for smart surveillance systems. His true passions, as some believe, may be revealed by future research and reporting.