Another high-profile departure at Google’s augmented reality division has been revealed, as Paul Greco, formerly the chief technology officer at Magic Leap, leaves his role as a vice president of engineering at Google. While a Google spokesperson confirmed Greco’s departure, no additional comments were provided.
Initially involved in Google’s Project Starline, Greco later led hardware initiatives on Iris, Google’s smart glasses project that was terminated last year. Following Iris’s shutdown, Greco transitioned to a team focused on developing products using technology from AR display company Raxium, acquired by Google in 2022.
Insiders suggest that Greco’s team, working on Raxium technology, was isolated from other AR endeavors due to Samsung’s preference not to share Moohan technology. Moohan is Google’s mixed-reality headset developed in collaboration with Samsung. The fate of Greco’s team’s progress remains unclear after his departure.
Greco’s exit adds to a series of notable departures from Google’s AR teams, including Eddie Chung and Mark Lucovsky, who were leads on the now-defunct Iris project. Google seems to be shifting its focus to Moohan but still envisions a future for AR glasses. Instead of manufacturing glasses itself, Google is developing a software operating system to license to hardware partners.
Reports indicate that Google is actively seeking partners and plans to showcase various AR glasses prototypes, including those codenamed Betty and Barry, at the upcoming CES technology trade show in Las Vegas. The company appears to be exploring collaboration opportunities rather than taking a product-centric approach.
Despite Google’s attention on Moohan, sources suggest that Samsung might still collaborate with Google on AR glasses alongside the Moohan project. Qualcomm’s recent announcement of a new chip, intended for use by both Google and Samsung in their devices, further hints at the ongoing developments in the AR space.