Facebook CTO Bret Taylor Is Out - Business Insider

Facebook CTO Bret Taylor is leaving the company this summer, Kara Swisher reports.

He's leaving for an unnamed startup he'll cofound with ex-Googler, Kevin Gibbs.

"I had always been upfront with Mark that I eventually wanted to do another start-up,? Taylor said in an interview today. ?And we felt it was the best time after the IPO and the launch of some recent things for me to do that.?

Swisher says the platform and mobile roles will be filled by two executives who currently report to Taylor, Mike Vernal and Cory Ondreijka.

Taylor wants to make it clear that his departure is a normal course of action. He still strongly believes in Facebook and its mobile product.? He tells Swisher, "Cross-pollination among companies is what drives so much of innovation, so I would not project a lot onto this event."

Gibbs and Taylor aren't sure what company they'll start, but Taylor says he'll likely tackle something he "doesn't understand well as a consumer."

Prior to his CTO role, Taylor founded FriendFeed, which Facebook acquired for cash and stock in 2009. The deal ended up being worth more than $300 million when Facebook's valuation skyrocketed.

UPDATE: Bret Taylor writes about his departure on Facebook:

I wanted to let you all know that I'll be leaving Facebook later this summer. I'm sad to be leaving, but I'm excited to be starting a company with my friend Kevin Gibbs.

While a transition like this is never easy, I'm extremely confident in the teams and leadership we have in place. I'm very proud of our recent accomplishments in our platform and mobile products, from Open Graph and App Center to Facebook Camera and our iOS integration. I'm even more excited for the world to see all the amazing things these teams have coming.

I've learned more than I ever imagined in my time at Facebook. I'm also extremely grateful for my relationship with all of the amazing people I've worked with here.

I want to give a special thanks to Mark Zuckerberg. You've not only been my boss for the past three years, but my mentor and one of my closest friends.

Thanks to all of you at Facebook for the most incredible three years of my life.

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