Manu Gulati has been at Apple for eight years, working as a chip architect for Apple’s iPads and iPhones. But no more. Because he’s just been “acquired” by Google, apparently to “play a vital role in building its upcoming flagship pixel phone.”
The news of Mr. Gulati’s high profile job change is verified by the man himself, who made the official announcement on his LinkedIn page. According to the update description, he’s now the “Lead SoC Architect for Google.”
The reason he’s been grabbed by Google will become apparent when you hear that he has at least 15 patents to his credit, all for chip design at Apple. Now, because Google is looking to build its microprocessor, Mr Gulati is certainly going to prove to be a handy tool. The Hindu reports —
“Gulati was instrumental in Apple’s bid to build custom chips for the iPhone, iPad and Apple TV. In the past, he has been responsible for the A4 and A9 chips which powered the 2010 iPad.”
Mr. Gulati isn’t the only one to be wooed by Google. Over the past few months, Google has been rapidly building a team of chip experts, who will all be working build the best microprocessor in the market. Will make a difference you ask? Well, according to the report quoted earlier:
“Google’s new hire could help the company differentiate Pixel from the many other smartphones by other vendors that run Android on Qualcomm chips. And Mr Gulati’s exit is seen as a setback for Apple, which has filed some chip-related patents that credit him as an inventor.”
