Android creator Andy Rubin is back at his phone startup after allegations of an 'inappropriate' relationship at Google


Andy Rubin is back at Essential, the smartphone startup he founded to take on his former employer, Google, and Apple.


The "father of Android" took a leave of absence from Essential in late November after a report in The Information was published that concerned his time at Google. The report unearthed a Google internal complaint from 2014 that accused Rubin of having an "inappropriate" relationship with a colleague in Google's Android division.

Rubin denied the allegation of a non-consensual relationship at Google through his spokesperson at the time and said his leave was due to "personal matters" and had been requested before the report from his time at Google surfaced.