Hugo Barra departs Xiaomi, returns to Silicon Valley

In a surprising turn of events, Xiaomi's VP, Hugo Barra has just announced will leave the Chinese company and return to Silicon Valley. The main reason Xiaomi brought Barra aboard was to help expand the smartphone business globally.

Xiaomi is trying to enter the US market for years, but the company didn't give any deadlines on the move. After it launched its setup-box in the country last year, we though that Xiaomi is making the first step towards its goal: becoming a competitive brand in the US.

Today, Hugo Barra posted a long message on his Facebook page explaining why he decided to leave Xiaomi, but he did little to shed light on his future plans.


According to Barra, Xiaomi is in a very good position on its global expansion road, which made his decision much easier. He also highlights the company's achievements in India where Xiaomi reported $1 billion in annual revenues, as well as the expansion in other countries like Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia.

As far as future plans go, Hugo Barra was a bit cryptic and said that he will leave Xiaomi after the Chinese New Year in February. He'll be taking some time off and will embark “on a new adventure back in Silicon Valley.”