Microsoft's Alex Kipman, who led the company's augmented-realityheadset project, will be stepping down, according to an internal email that was viewed by The Wall Street Journal.
The email, from Scott Guthrie, chief of Microsoft's cloud division, said it was "mutually decided that this is the right time for him to leave the company to pursue other opportunities."
The email added, "I appreciate the tremendous vision Alex has provided to Microsoft over the years, and all that he has done to advance our Metaverse offerings."
HoloLens hardware will now be overseen by Panos Panay, whoheads up Microsoft's Surface computer division, Bloomberg reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.
Microsoft couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
Kipman led the team at Microsoft developing the HoloLens, the company's hardware for mixed reality applications, which already has been adopted by some manufacturers for industrial applications. An augmented-reality headset is considered an important component of Microsoft's move into the metaverse. Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, announced in January, made the company a key player in the creation of virtual and augmented-reality experiences for both business and gaming.
Comments