Andy Rubin, the CEO and founder of smartphone maker Essential, has taken a leave of absence from the company as of Wednesday as the result of an alleged inappropriate relationship.

Rubin reportedly announced his intention to take his leave to “deal with personal matters” earlier this month during a board meeting, according to TechCrunch . A spokesperson for the company said the board agreed to the decision and company President Niccolo de Masi will carry out day-to-day operations at Essential.

While Essential is claiming Rubin told the board of his plans earlier this month, the company CEO reportedly only told his staff of his leave on Monday after he was contacted by technology publication The Information about allegations of an inappropriate relationship that played a role in his exit from his previous job.

Prior to launching Essential, Rubin served as Senior Vice President of Mobile and Digital Content at Google. He joined the search giant after it acquired his mobile device startup Android, Inc. in 2005. The company would become the basis for Google’s Android mobile operating system.

According to a report from The Information, Rubin left his post at Google in 2014 after a woman made a complaint to the company’s human resources department. According to the woman, she and Rubin carried on a relationship while she was working for the Android division while Rubin was still in charge.

The relationship, as it was alleged, was prohibited by Google’s employee rulebook. An investigation was launched into the matter and found that the relationship was “improper and showed bad judgement.”

A spokesperson for Rubin told The Information that “any relationship that Mr. Rubin had while at Google was consensual, and did not involve any person who reported directly to him,” and that "Mr. Rubin was never told by Google that he engaged in any misconduct while at Google and he did not, either while at Google or since."

At the time Rubin left Google, he was leading the company’s robotics division, which at the time had just been formed. Rubin had a background in robotics, serving as a robotics engineer for German manufacturer Car Zeiss. Rubin had taken the robotics role at Google in December 2013. Rubin left the company on October 31, 2014.

When Rubin left Google, he made no mention of an investigation or allegations of an inappropriate relationship. At the time, he said he was leaving the company in order to launch a tech incubator designed to help fund and grow startup companies. He launched incubator, named Playground Global, in 2015. Essential was launched out of the tech incubator.

Essential was founded in November 2015 by Rubin. The company has thus far launched one product, the Essential Phone, was first unveiled in May of this year and began shipping on Aug. 25. The company is reportedly working on a successor to the device, which has been identified as the PH-2.

Andy Rubin Net Worth

According to The Richest, Andy Rubin won't just getting by following his exit from the Essential Phone company. The publication says Rubin has a net worth of $100 million from his days a Google, the sale of Android and because of his days at Danger Inc., which "is responsible for the creation of the T-mobile sidekick."

While Rubin's net worth is listed at $100 million, he is departing a company worth a lot more. According to Bloomberg, Essential is worth more than $1 billion as of August.