What are the odds he'll be acquired by Google in the next 2yrs even if the product flops? AI and smartphones...
We'd all hope so, but in practice it only depends on the board of Rubin's company and their goals.
In a startup company, everyone should be on the same page. A founder with FU money is not on the same page as an engineer risking 2-3 years for a shot at FU money. I'm almost certain that investors would look at an FU money founder differently than a ramen founder.
As a startup engineer, I have done this. There are startups. There are corporations. Both have their place and their appeal. But I'll avoid corporate startups.
But he was there for 9 years. Thats a very long time to "have had it" with someone.
Bezos has shown himself entirely unafraid of taking shots and failing. I won't be surprised to see him go after the smartphone market again in some manner if he believes he has something very interesting to leverage.
Apple is no longer the product company they used to be, and Cook can't do anything about that with his skill set. Eventually, sooner rather than later, they (institutional shareholders first, then management) are going to start to get very desperate and will turn to acquisitions increasingly to try to restart the growth & innovation engines. The immense iPhone profits have temporarily insulated Apple from having to deal with the reality of zero growth and low-interest products (who cares about the iPad, it couldn't be any less interesting or innovative at this point). Right now Apple is dead in the water, coasting in a stagnant fashion on the last product of Steve Jobs; that situation can't and won't last. Unless they replace Cook with a product CEO, their only shot is to buy lots of other companies and hope something comes out of it.