Facebook woos Google's Regina Dugan, former head of DARPA and Google ATAP

Regina Dugan, former head of DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) and vice president of Google’s ATAP (Advanced Technology And Projects) group has now moved to Facebook. At Facebook, she will be heading a group labelled Building 8, which is positioned as a rival to Google’s ATAP.

Dugan told Forbes that Facebook is looking to invest hundreds of millions of dollars into research and development and that they’re looking to “fluidly blend physical and digital worlds.” As the only woman to have headed DARPA, which is a big deal by the way, the loss of Dugan must be a huge blow to Google and their ATAP division in particular.

Google’s ATAP has been at the forefront of innovation and have been responsible for  Project Tango , Project Ara and more.

The Forbes report adds, “At DARPA and Google, Dugan led rapid product development teams, whose projects depended on scientific breakthroughs and who typically had two years to yield results.”

Dugan took to Facebook with this statement, “I am on the one hand, tremendously excited. 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. There is much to build at Facebook… and the mission is human… compelling.”