Hugo Barra Is Joining Facebook 'To Lead All VR Efforts', Says Zuckerberg.

• Mark Zuckerberg announced the move via Facebook
• Barra announced his departure from Xiaomi earlier this week
• Zuck says VR and AR 'will be the next major computing platform'

Xiaomi's Global Vice President Hugo Barra, who said earlier this week he is leaving the Chinese company to head back to the Silicon Valley, is joining Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg announced via the social network on Wednesday.

"I'm excited that Hugo Barra is joining Facebook to lead all of our virtual reality efforts, including our Oculus team," Zuckerberg said in his Facebook post.

"Hugo shares my belief that virtual and augmented reality will be the next major computing platform. They'll enable us to experience completely new things and be more creative than ever before. Hugo is going to help build that future, and I'm looking forward to having him on our team," he added.

Barra, who's been the face of Xiaomi ever since he joined the company after leaving Google around three and a half years ago, announced his departure via Facebook earlier this week citing health and other personal reasons.

"What I've realized is that the last few years of living in such a singular environment have taken a huge toll on my life and started affecting my health." Hugo Barra said, "My friends, what I consider to be my home, and my life are back in Silicon Valley, which is also much closer to my family. Seeing how much I've left behind these past few years, it is clear to me that the time has come to return."

Before joining Xiaomi, Hugo Barra was the Vice President of Product Development for Android at Google.