Gene Munster, who (in)famously predicted an Apple TV set for years, is leaving Piper Jaffray to start a VC firm

Gene Munster has made a name for himself by being an Apple analyst for investment banking firm Piper Jaffray. Munster announced today, however, that come the end of this year, he will be leaving Piper Jaffray to start a venture capital firm.

Announced in his final Piper Jaffray investor note for the year (and ever), Munster explains that he will be leaving the firm after over 20 years there:

At the end of the year, I’ll be leaving Piper Jaffray to start a venture capital firm. It’s hard leaving a place I’ve called home for almost my entire professional career, over 20 years, but I’m excited for this new journey.

Munster’s move was first revealed in a Bloomberg report last week, but the analyst today confirmed his departure to investors. Speaking to Bloomberg last week, Munster explained that the firm he is starting is a “research driven early stage VC based in Minneapolis and New York.” The firm will be called Loup Ventures and be co-headed by Andrew Murphy and Doug Clinton.

Munster’s venture capital firm is expected to focus on virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and robotics. Notably, Munster predicted earlier this year that virtual reality will come to iOS within 2 years, with Apple adding VR to its Made-For-iPhone program.

Generally, many have come to take Munster’s product predictions with a grain of salt. Munster made a name for himself on Apple earnings calls by repeatedly pestering executives about the company’s in creating a TV set.

One of Munster’s earliest predictions for Apple’s TV set came early 2011. He then continued to boast about Apple’s interest in the area later that year and in early 2012, late 2012, early 2013, and late 2013 In late 2014, Munster cautiously discussed Apple’s interest in TV, but in 2015, he finally admitted he got it wrong. 

One thing about Munster’s TV predictions is that he often made them in such a dramatic fashion that he was sure to get press coverage. For instance, he stated in 2012 that Apple’s TV set would be “the biggest thing in consumer electronics since the smartphone.”

Munster will depart Piper Jaffray at the end of this year, but something tells us that he’ll continue to make Apple predictions at his new firm…

Whoa. Apple's biggest bull Gene Munster writes his 874th (and final) note at Piper Jaffray $AAPL #MunsterToJanus pic.twitter.com/6aD7dvtY2l

— Amber Kanwar (@baystreetamber) December 15, 2016