Carl Pei has been a big part of OnePlus ever since he helped co-found the smartphone maker in 2013, but now it looks like he might've quietly left.
Images posted to Reddit by user JonSigur purportedly show internal notices to OnePlus staff that list the company leadership, and Pei is noticeably absent. The images also name another person as head of the Nord product line. That's a role that Pei had held, regularly teasing the Nord in the lead up to its release and appearing in OnePlus's New Beginnings documentary about the Nord's development.
Following the leak of these images, the folks at Android Police asked OnePlus for a statement on the matter but OnePlus declined. That seemingly adds credibility to the leak since if Pei were still with OnePlus, it'd be easy for it to say as much.
While we don't yet have confirmation on Pei's status with OnePlus, it would be a big change for the company if he were to leave. He helped to found OnePlus with current CEO Pete Lau and has been a public-facing figure ever since. Pei also played a major role in the launch of the Nord, which is OnePlus's newest line of devices that could be adding more models soon.
UPDATE: Two sources have told Android Central that Pei has indeed left OnePlus. It's said that he exited OnePlus sometime in the "recent weeks". OnePlus has not yet officially confirmed Pei's departure.
UPDATE 2: A report from TechCrunch also says that Pei has left OnePlus, adding that he's starting his own venture. There's no word yet on if that venture is mobile-related.
