What Ex-Google Exec Hugo Barra Can Do for China's Xiaomi

In one of the most high-profile moves from Silicon Valley to China, Hugo Barra, vice president of Android product development at Google, is moving to Beijing to lead international business development for Xiaomi, a smartphone vendor that makes some of the coolest phones in the country.

Why would Barra make the jump to a privately held company that has been around for only a few years and has just a sliver of the Chinese market? The announcement coincided with speculation about Sergey Brin’s new relationship with Barra’s ex-girlfriend, also a Google employee; a report in AllThingsD cited sources saying the events are unrelated. And while Xiaomi may be a small smartphone brand in China, its founder and chief executive, Lei Jun, has inspired confidence among such investors as Qiming Venture Partners and Singapore’s Temasek Holdings.