• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock

2

‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion

3

'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic

1

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock

2

‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion

3

'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic
Tech

Facebook’s Oculus Virtual Reality Unit Needs A New Leader

By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
December 13, 2016, 3:34 PM ET
US-IT-LIFESTYLE-GAMES-FACEBOOK-OCULUS
Oculus chief executive Brendan Iribe is silhouetted while showing off a new Touch controller for Rift virtual reality head gear at an Oculus developers conference in San Jose, California on October 6, 2016. Facebook unveiled new hardware for its Oculus division as part of a stepped-up effort to integrate virtual reality with the leading social network. The new offerings aim to get an array of virtual reality gear to consumers in the coming months, including a new "Touch" controller and compatible computer to help spur Facebook's push. / AFP / Glenn CHAPMAN (Photo credit should read GLENN CHAPMAN/AFP/Getty Images)Glenn Chapman — AFP/Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Facebook’s Oculus virtual reality business is looking for a new leader.

Brendan Iribe, a co-founder of Oculus, said Tuesday that he is stepping down as Oculus’s CEO and will instead lead the unit’s new personal computer division. Additionally, Iribe wrote that Jon Thomason, who recently joined Oculus from Amazon (AMZN) where he was vice president of mobile shopping, would lead Oculus’s new mobile unit.

Facebook (FB) bought Oculus in 2014 for roughly $2 billion in a surprise move. Besides selling VR headsets like the Oculus Rift, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said he believes virtual reality could be a new way for people to socialize and interact with each other, and he envisions the social network to incorporate the technology in the future. Oculus operates as a standalone business housed inside the social network.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

The decision to split Oculus into two units—one focused on PCs and one on mobile—is noteworthy because currently, Oculus’s only VR headset, the Oculus Rift, requires a powerful PC to operate. Although Oculus has a partnership with Samsung to provide Oculus-related software to run the mobile phone-powered Samsung Gear VR headset, Facebook has made the Oculus Rift the centerpiece of the social network’s foray into virtual reality.

Technology analysts are generally divided as to whether consumers will be attracted to more mobile phone-oriented VR headsets like the Gear VR or Google’s Daydream View headset, or PC-powered VR headsets like the Rift or HTC Vive.

While mobile-phone-tethered headsets cost under $100 compared to headsets that require PCs that cost up to $800, they are not as powerful and generate lower-quality graphics, resulting in less compelling visuals and experiences.

A new Oculus division dedicated to mobile could indicate that Facebook sees a big business in selling a cheaper variant of its current Oculus Rift that does not need an expensive PC to run. In October, Facebook showed off a prototype of a new VR headset that does not require a PC to operate.

For more about virtual reality, watch:

Oculus, like HTC and other companies involved with VR, does not disclose sales of its headsets. Recent data from analyst firm SuperData estimated that the Oculus would sell roughly 355,000 Rift headsets in 2016. That is far less than previous estimates. In 2015, various analysts like Travis Jakel at Piper Jaffray forecasted that Oculus would sell over 3 million Rift headsets, which shows that consumers have yet to catch on with the devices.

Facebook’s announcement on Tuesday made no mention of Palmer Lucky, Oculus’ other co-founder. In September, Lucky caused a bit of controversy for donating $10,000 to a pro Donald Trump non profit during the 2016 presidential election season; some Oculus Rift third-party developers were upset by Lucky’s actions and publicly voiced their complaints.

As for Iribe, he said that change would give him a chance to be more hands on with headset development.

“Looking ahead and thinking about where I’m most passionate, I’ve decided to lead the PC VR group—pushing the state of VR forward with Rift, research and computer vision,” wrote Iribe. “As we’ve grown, I really missed the deep, day-to-day involvement in building a brand new product on the leading edge of technology.”

About the Author
By Jonathan Vanian
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jonathan Vanian is a former Fortune reporter. He covered business technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data privacy, and other topics.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

chad
AIConsulting
Exclusive: KPMG and OpenAI bet the future of software is ‘headless’ — and the future of work is mostly talking
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 21, 2026
1 hour ago
Yang Zhilin, co-founder of Moonshot AI, in Beijing, China on March 25, 2026. (Photo: VCG/Getty Images)
NewslettersFortune Tech
What will the White House do about China’s new open weight AI models?
By Andrew NuscaJuly 21, 2026
2 hours ago
$5 billion tech CEO says unemployed Gen Z should be out 3 days a week building their network: ‘Sometimes those jobs you want, they’re never published’
SuccessCareers
$5 billion tech CEO says unemployed Gen Z should be out 3 days a week building their network: ‘Sometimes those jobs you want, they’re never published’
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJuly 21, 2026
4 hours ago
A Jersey Mike's logo is displayed outside one of their stores in San Diego, California.
InvestingIPOs
Jersey Mike’s IPO valuation could reach eight times Sweetgreen’s market cap
By Sheryl EstradaJuly 21, 2026
4 hours ago
LaLiga president says tech is already making the fan experience better, and it could solve football’s money problem too
AISports
LaLiga president says tech is already making the fan experience better, and it could solve football’s money problem too
By Catherina GioinoJuly 20, 2026
15 hours ago
A 13-year-old teenage boy looks at an iPhone screen displaying various social media apps.
PoliticsSocial Media
French President Macron backs effort to ban kids under 15 from social media before departing office next year
By The Associated Press and Samuel PetrequinJuly 20, 2026
16 hours ago

Most Popular

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
Success
Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 20, 2026
18 hours ago
‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion
Success
‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion
By Sydney LakeJuly 20, 2026
22 hours ago
'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic
AI
'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic
By Jason MaJuly 18, 2026
3 days ago
Current price of silver as of Monday, July 20, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Monday, July 20, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 20, 2026
1 day ago
Warren Buffett says his $147 billion investing career was an accident: ‘I may be one of the 10 luckiest in the world’
Future of Work
Warren Buffett says his $147 billion investing career was an accident: ‘I may be one of the 10 luckiest in the world’
By Sarah GlodekJuly 20, 2026
1 day ago
It’s not just Taco Bell lettuce and possible glass in Pillsbury rolls: Food and drink recall events reached a 6-year year-over-year high
Retail
It’s not just Taco Bell lettuce and possible glass in Pillsbury rolls: Food and drink recall events reached a 6-year year-over-year high
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 20, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.