In the race to the meta-universe, there's no shortage of Meta, but Microsoft is actually one of the 'seeds', although both companies have had some recent ups and downs with personnel changes.
An internal memo from Meta reveals that David Mortenson, the head of data centers and infrastructure within the company, is stepping down, with Santosh Janardhan, the current VP of engineering, taking over the role later this month. Despite leaving his position, David will not be leaving Meta for the time being, but will be taking a long break.
▲Image from: IronFX
Not long ago, in an email sent by Scott Guthrie, head of Microsoft's Cloud and AI division, it was mentioned that Alex Kipman (Alex Kipman), the executive responsible for leading the Microsoft HoloLens mixed reality platform project, was leaving the company, but not immediately, and that he would help the team with the transition over the next two months before leaving.
▲Alex Kipman, image via: NewTechTown
In addition, the Mixed Reality hardware team will be reorganized to join the Windows + Devices division led by Panos Panay, formerly head of Surface. The Mixed Reality Presence and Collaboration team will join the Teams group in the Experiences + Devices division, led by Jeff Teper.
▲ Panos Panay, photo from: Microsoft News
In an email, Scott Guthrie wrote: Over the past few months, Alex Kipman and I have been talking about the team's path forward, and together we decided that now was the right time for him to leave the company to pursue other opportunities. I thank Alex for the tremendous vision he has provided to Microsoft over the years and for all he has done to advance our meta-universe of products.
While the email doesn't state the reason for Alex Kipman's somewhat abrupt departure from Microsoft, recent events within the company suggest that his allegedly abusive and sexually harassing misconduct towards colleagues should be among the reasons for leaving.
▲Scott Guthrie, photo from: CNBC
In May, it was reported that about 25 Microsoft employees had filed an internal report about Kipman's alleged misconduct. The report accused the executive of watching VR porn videos in an office with co-workers present, as well as making inappropriate verbal and physical contact with female employees.
There has been no positive response from Microsoft to these incidents and accusations, but Alex Kipman's departure may also be an implicit indication of how the company is handling this.
▲Image from: TheGamer
As the subject of the accusation, Alex Kipman's departure should be considered good news for the employee who made the accusation. As the head of the mixed reality project, Kipman's departure also makes one wonder what the future holds for the HoloLens line of mixed reality devices he developed, and how Microsoft will proceed from here in terms of mixed reality and even the meta-universe.
In Scott Guthrie's email, it actually reveals Microsoft's 'big move' on mixed reality: Microsoft will work with the U.S. Army and the IVAS program (Integrated Visual Augmentation System) to build a next-generation solution where every soldier will use a mixed reality headset and get official approval from the U.S. Army to enter the operational test (OT) phase .
▲Image from: Microsoft News
It's not only the technology but also the ideas of the developers that are blended in the process of the product taking shape. If the behavior of the head of the development team causes controversy, it will naturally have an impact on the product as well. whether HoloLens 3 will still be available is currently unknown, but Microsoft's competition on the track does not seem to be affected too much.