OnePlus Co-Founder Carl Pei has reportedly left the company ahead of the flagship OnePlus 8T series and the affordable Nord N10 series launch.
According to the report, Pei is leaving the company to start "a new venture" and is currently in talks with investors to raise capital, TechCrunch reported on Tuesday, citing sources.
However, Pei's Twitter bio still reads "#NewBeginnings @oneplus" and his LinkedIn profile still lists him as a co-founder of OnePlus.
According to the TechCrunch report, Pei has not only been the face of OnePlus globally, but has also played a significant role in the designing of OnePlus smartphones over the years.
“In the early years of OnePlus, Pei devised various marketing strategies for best positioning the company’s products and creating hype about them,” the report states.
Pei was looking after the successful OnePlus Nord lineup and was instrumental in its design and previously the flagship models from OnePlus.
Emily Dai, who is currently in charge of the company's operations in India, was recently appointed as the head of the Nord product line globally, Android police reported, citing an internal memo leaked by a Reddit user.
Pei and Pete Lau started OnePlus back in 2012 and have led the company from a tiny smartphone brand to one that leads in several markets, including India. Pei reportedly reached out to and introduced himself to Pete through social media in 2012.
OnePlus 8T 5G is set for a global launch on October 14. It will run OxygenOS 11 based on Android 11 and comes with 120Hz refresh rate. The OnePlus 8T will succeed the OnePlus 7T that launched in India in September 2019. The device may feature a 6.55-inch AMOLED display just like the regular OnePlus 8.
OnePlus has also announced that it has created a pop-up event for its community, this time in 3D, in its virtual platform, OnePlus World.