Facebook Eyes The Hardware Business

Facebook’s new research lab, which is tasked with developing hardware products, will be led by a top Google executive.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday (April 13), Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the new group, called Building 8, will focus on “building new hardware products to advance our mission of connecting the world.”

Regina Dugan, who was the director of DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) and, more recently, led the advanced technology and projects group at Google, will reside at the helm of Facebook’s Building 8 initiative.

“I’m excited to have Regina apply DARPA-style breakthrough development at the intersection of science and products to our mission,” Zuckerberg said in the post. “This method is characterized by aggressive, fixed timelines, extensive use of partnerships with universities, small and large businesses, and clear objectives for shipping products at scale.”

He went on to say that Facebook plans to invest hundreds of millions of dollars into the Building 8 group over the next few years, with an expectation to see significant breakthroughs across important areas, such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence and connectivity.

The Wall Street Journal reported that, in a statement, Dugan said: “Building 8 is an opportunity to do what I love most. Tech infused with a sense of our humanity. Audacious science delivered at scale in products that feel almost magic. A little badass. And beautiful.”

She earned a PhD in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology and was the first woman to lead DARPA, a position she held from 2009 to 2012, WSJ confirmed.