Case 6:21-cv-00755-ADA Document 61-12 Filed 05/20/22 Page 1 of 3
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`Exhibit 11
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`5/12/22, 8:03 PM
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`John Carmack stepping down as CTO of Oculus to work on AI - The Verge
`Case 6:21-cv-00755-ADA Document 61-12 Filed 05/20/22 Page 2 of 3
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`FACEBOOK
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`VIRTUAL REALITY
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`12
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`John Carmack stepping down as CTO of Oculus to
`work on AI
`Carmack helped put Oculus on the map
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`By Jay Peters and Adi Robertson
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` Nov 13, 2019, 7:01pm EST
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`John Carmack (Credit: Quakecon_Flickr)
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`Listen to this article
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`John Carmack, the chief technology officer of Facebook’s VR subsidiary Oculus, is
`stepping down this week. Carmack posted the news on Facebook today, saying he plans
`https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/13/20963899/john-carmack-stepping-down-cto-of-oculus-work-on-ai
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`5/12/22, 8:03 PM
`John Carmack stepping down as CTO of Oculus to work on AI - The Verge
`Case 6:21-cv-00755-ADA Document 61-12 Filed 05/20/22 Page 3 of 3
`to focus his time instead on artificial general intelligence. He will remain in a “consulting
`CTO” position at Oculus, where he will “still have a voice” in the development work at the
`company.
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`Carmack will still work on some VR projects at Facebook, a spokesperson told Variety.
`In addition to general advisory tasks, for example, he will keep working on projects that
`maximize VR visual quality on lower-powered mobile hardware. However, he says that
`VR will “only be consuming a modest slice of my time” while he works on AI. “I have
`sometimes wondered how I would fare with a problem where the solution really isn’t in
`sight,” he said of the subject. “I decided that I should give it a try before I get too old.”
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`Carmack, also known for his work programming games like Doom and Quake, played a
`substantial role in the current generation of VR. He helped promote the Oculus Rift when
`it launched on Kickstarter in 2012, and he joined Oculus as CTO in 2013, leaving Doom
`studio id Software. ZeniMax Media, id’s parent company, later sued Oculus for allegedly
`misappropriating trade secrets to build Rift development tools. The two companies
`settled last December.
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`In addition to games and VR, Carmack has also worked on private spaceflight efforts
`through a startup called Armadillo Aerospace, although the project has been in
`“hibernation” for several years.
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`At Oculus, Carmack turned his attention to mobile virtual reality. He was known for his
`passionate and intensely geeky keynotes at the annual Oculus Connect conference, and
`he was instrumental in building the Gear VR, a phone-powered VR headset that was
`released before the consumer Oculus Rift and remains one of the most widely
`distributed headsets ever created.
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`However, recent comments from Carmack suggest he may have soured on VR
`development. In October, he delivered a “eulogy” for the Gear VR, which was effectively
`discontinued this year. And in a video for receiving a lifetime achievement award this
`week at the VR Awards, he said that “I really haven’t been satisfied with the pace of
`progress that we’ve been making” in VR.
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`Update 8:00PM ET: Added further context and statement to Variety.
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`https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/13/20963899/john-carmack-stepping-down-cto-of-oculus-work-on-ai
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