While some reports have tried to draw business issues from the situation, a reported prenuptial agreement means there probably won't be much if any impact on Google if they ultimately divorce. So the main reason it's of interest is that it comes as a shock to people in Silicon Valley and the tech community, where Brin and Wojcicki are quite well-known. It's one of the leading strings of stories on the popular tech site Techmeme.
According to a spokesperson for the couple, who have two children, they have been living apart for several months but "remain good friends and partners." Sources also say that Brin, whose fortune Forbes now pegs at an updated $24 billion, has become romantically involved with another employee at Google.
They were married in May 2007, a little under three years after Google went public. At that time, Brin was worth $16.6 billion, according to Forbes.
Brin and Wojcicki, both 40, have several philanthropic and business ventures together, including their own foundation, which a spokesperson told Forbes they will continue to work on. Google and Brin himself also have invested in 23andMe, which sells DNA testing kits to help people become aware of potential diseases or other health issues.
The situation is further complicated by the fact that Anne Wojcicki is the younger sister of Susan Wojcicki, senior vice president of advertising and commerce at Google and one of its highest-ranking executives. Brin, who has been involved less in daily operations in the past couple of years and now is mainly working on Google[x], the company's unit doing far-out projects such as self-driving cars and the Glass wearable computing device, does not directly manage her.
Update: Hugo Barra, Google's VP of product management for its Android mobile software, is leaving after more than five years at Google to join Chinese Android phone maker Xiaomi. First reported by another AllThingsD report, the move to become vice president of Xiaomi Global was confirmed by Barra on his Google+ page. If you're wondering how this relates to Brin and Wojcicki, AllThingsD cites sources that say Barra's ex-girlfriend at Google is the person with whom Brin has a relationship. That report says Barra decided to leave before knowing about the relationship and his departure is unrelated. (Yes, it feels weird and even a bit inappropriate to be writing about the love lives of engineers and executives, but I guess the world doesn't run on algorithms alone.)
"We wish Hugo Barra the best," Google told Forbes in a statement. "We'll miss him at Google and we're excited that he is staying within the Android ecosystem." A little less stiffly, Sundar Pichai, Google's senior VP for Android, Chrome and Apps, echoed on his Google+ page: "Congratulations to Hugo on his exciting new adventure. We'll miss him at Google but we're thrilled that he's sticking with Android. Best wishes Hugo!"
With reporting from Kerry Dolan.
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