Bret Taylor, Facebook’s chief technology officer, announced that he will be leaving the social networking giant for a startup company with his friend Kevin Gibbs, head of the Google App Engine Project.

Here’s Taylor’s post on his Facebook profile:

I wanted to let you all know that I’ll be leaving Facebook later this summer. I’m sad to be leaving, but I’m excited to be starting a company with my friend Kevin Gibbs.

While a transition like this is never easy, I’m extremely confident in the teams and leadership we have in place. I’m very proud of our recent accomplishments in our platform and mobile products, from Open Graph and App Center to Facebook Camera and our iOS integration. I’m even more excited for the world to see all the amazing things these teams have coming.
I’ve learned more than I ever imagined in my time at Facebook. I’m also extremely grateful for my relationship with all of the amazing people I’ve worked with here.

I want to give a special thanks to Mark Zuckerberg. You’ve not only been my boss for the past three years, but my mentor and one of my closest friends.

Thanks to all of you at Facebook for the most incredible three years of my life.

Taylor is responsible for many of Facebook’s platform and mobile efforts, such as the love-to-hate Facebook Timeline.  His departure may be deemed disruptive for the social networking giant, especially after their anticlimactic IPO, but Taylor sees his departure as an opportunity for both him and the company.

“I had always been upfront with Mark [Zuckerberg] that I eventually wanted to do another start-up,” Taylor said in an interview with AllThingsD. “And we felt now is the best time after the IPO and the launch of some recent things for me to do that.”

Taylor’s position will be taken over by a pair of Facebook execs — Mike Vernal for the platform efforts and Cory Ondrejka for mobile.

“Cross-pollination among companies is what drives so much of innovation, so I would not project a lot onto this event,” he said. “I am really confident that the mobile and platform leaders at Facebook can deliver what needs to be done.”

Taylor was also a part of Google’s mapping team before he joined Facebook’s team.  Back then, they never thought that Google Maps would become such a big hit for consumers but they kept working on it.  That’s the same direction he’ll be taking as he leaves Facebook.  Taylor wants to work on something that interests him as a consumer and hopes that it will work out just like his other projects.  Taylor hasn’t announced yet what his next startup would be.

In other Facebook news, to settle a class-action lawsuit, the social networking giant agreed to pay $10 million to charity.  The lawsuit was filed by five people who complained that Facebook violated California law by publicizing users’ “likes” of certain advertisers on their “Sponsored Stories” feature without paying them or giving them a way to opt out.

US District Judge Lucy Koh presided over the case and stated that the plaintiffs presented evidence of economic injury resulting from Facebook’s illegal use of their names, photos, and likeness.

“California has long recognized a right to protect one’s name and likeness against appropriation by others for their advantage,” Koh wrote.