Microsoft Shuts Down the Industrial Metaverse Team – Here’s what Happened
Microsoft has ended its four-month-old Industrial Metaverse Core project, which was designed to encourage the use and development of the metaverse within industrial environments.
According to A Thursday report By Information The tech giant also fired about 100 employees who were involved in the project. According to a source familiar with the matter, the company prefers shorter-term projects to generate meaningful revenue.
The Industrial Metaverse team (internally referred to internally as “Project Bonsai”) focused on using artificial intelligence and digital technology to allow people to interact and optimize physical goods and assets.
The team was launched in October and worked with clients from energy, retail financial services, health care, and energy to build the components industrial customers could use.
It is important to note that Microsoft had already been a major customer in the Industrial Metaverse, including Mercedes Benz as well as Coca-Cola. According to a spokesperson for the company, this statement was made:
Microsoft is committed to the industrial metaverse. We will continue to support our customers in the most important areas of the industrial metaverse. We look forward sharing more information in the future.
Layoffs are a part of the deal CEO Satya Nadella announced a plan to lay off 10,00 workers This was earlier in the month. Microsoft is facing macroeconomic uncertainty and slowing economic growth amid a global stock exchange rout, and increased fears about a hard economic landing.
The metaverse is an online, immersive space that allows users to interact with one another and with computer-generated avatars and objects. The metaverse is being developed by major tech companies like Microsoft and Meta Platforms (META).
Robin Seiler, who manages Microsoft’s mixed reality operations, spoke last week. They gave assurances It stated that it would continue to support some of its mixed reality products, such as Microsoft Mesh and HoloLens 2.
The assurances were made shortly after Microsoft’s AltspaceVR meeting platform for avatars was ended. It also eliminated its entire team responsible for building the Mixed Reality Toolkit. This open-source project is now an independent open source project.
Although it’s still too early to see the metaverse become a reality yet, some jurisdictions have already started to embrace the idea. A recent SurveyWith 670 searches per 1000 people, Florida residents have the greatest interest in exploring the metaverse.
For example, Orlando and Miami used virtual reality (VR), and 3D technologies to create their cities in the metaverse.