Microsoft is reportedly shutting down the Industrial Metaverse Focused Group – Metaverse
Software giant Microsoft is shutting down one of its most important groups dedicated to developing and promoting the industrial metaverse. The company has reportedly terminated its entire Industrial Metaverse Core group, which consisted of 100 employees, as part of rounds of layoffs of 10,000 employees announced in January.
Microsoft is reportedly ending the Industrial Metaverse Group
Microsoft, the Washington-based software giant, appears to be abandoning the Metaverse in favor of other initiatives. According to reports from The Information, the company announced internally the dissolution of the Industrial Metaverse Core Group, a division of the company aimed at bringing the Metaverse to industrial settings.
The group, formed just four months ago, served as a bridge for implementing metaverse interfaces to control electric power plants, industrial robotics, and transportation networks. The department was part of an effort to bring the Metaverse to industrial settings by connecting software to this initiative.
The group’s 100 employees were laid off. However, Microsoft has stated that the products built by the group will continue to be supported in the future. The company explained:
We’re focusing on the areas of the industrial metaverse that matter most to our customers, and they won’t see any change in the way they’re supported. We look forward to sharing more information in the future.
Microsoft previously announced a round of 10,000 layoffs as part of a restructuring process in January.
Out with the Metaverse, in with AI
The recent turn of events suggests that Microsoft is using some of its resources from Metaverse initiatives to channel them into other areas such as artificial intelligence (AI). Previous reports have suggested that other Metaverse projects have been affected by Microsoft’s cuts, with employees at Metaverse platform Altspacevr – which announced its closure in March – and Mixed Reality Tool Kit also being laid off.
Microsoft has been pouring funds into AI-based startups since January. On Jan. 23, the company announced a “multi-year, multi-billion dollar investment” in Openai, the company behind the development of GPT-3 and its chatgpt interface. As part of this partnership, Microsoft recently announced the inclusion of Chatgpt in Bing, its search engine, and also as part of Edge, its web browser.
Accompanying this move, Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft stated:
AI will fundamentally transform every software category, starting with the biggest category of all – search.
What do you think of the termination of Metaverse-focused groups at Microsoft? Tell us in the comment section below.
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Source: Crypto News Deutsch
