Tech Giant Microsoft is apparently closing down certain of its leading projects, including the Industrial Metaverse Core Group, comprising of 100 workers, which was part of a round of 10,000 layoffs in January.
Microsoft Expected To Terminate Industrial Metaverse Group
The metaverse has been gaining traction, with Microsoft now turning its attention to other ventures. According to The Information, the Redmond-based firm has shut down its Industrial Metaverse Core Group, a unit within the company dedicated to the integration of the metaverse into industrial environments.
The group, which was only established 4 months ago, was meant to be the bridge between the metaverse and its implementation in energy plants, industrial robots, and transport networks. As part of the reorganization, all 100 members of the unit were laid off, though Microsoft has indicated that it will continue to support the products developed by the team.
The firm stated:
We are focusing our efforts on the areas that matter most to our customers, and we will not see any disruption in their support. We are preparing to share more information soon.
The layoffs were part of an overall restructuring plan, which saw 10,000 people let go back in January.
Away From the Metaverse
The recent move means that Microsoft is reallocating some of its resources from metaverse projects to other areas, such as artificial intelligence (AI). Previous reports have indicated that other metaverse initiatives were affected by the company’s cuts, with AltspaceVR, Mixed Reality Toolkit, and other platforms seeing layoffs.
Microsoft has been investing in AI-based startups since 1996. On January 23, the firm revealed a “multi-million dollar, multi-year investment” in OpenAI, GPT-3’s corporate sponsor. Furthermore, the ChatGPT interface was added to Bing, Microsoft’s web search engine, as well as its Edge web browser.
Commenting on the shift, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said:
AI is going to infuse all of our software. It starts with search, which is the most important.
Do you think it’s right for Microsoft to end its metaverse-focused teams? Let us know in the comments section below.
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