Microsoft is shedding staff engaged on combined actuality as a part of a restructuring of the division, CNBC has reported. The corporate will proceed to promote the HoloLens 2 augmented actuality (AR) headset, a key system produced by that division.
“Earlier at the moment we introduced a restructuring of the Microsoft’s Combined Actuality group,” a spokesperson advised CNBC in an electronic mail. “We stay absolutely dedicated to the Division of Protection’s IVAS program and can proceed to ship leading edge know-how to assist our troopers. As well as, we are going to proceed to spend money on W365 to achieve the broader Combined Actuality {hardware} ecosystem. We’ll proceed to promote HoloLens 2 whereas supporting current HoloLens 2 clients and companions.”
The US Division of Protection is a significant buyer for the HoloLens, using the AR units to enhance battlefield consciousness. The corporate not too long ago deployed a modified model referred to as the Built-in Visible Augmentation System (IVAS) designed to cut back nausea, eye pressure and different points.
A combined actuality division reorganization appeared inevitable after Microsoft deprecated Home windows Combined Actuality in Home windows 11 again in December 2023. On the time, Microsoft mentioned the transfer would haven’t any affect on its HoloLens division.
The modifications are a part of a broader restructuring that noticed the corporate let 1,000 employees go in a number of divisions yesterday. The corporate laid off nearly 2,000 employees from its gaming unit in January 2024, and over 10,000 final yr.
Microsoft’s transfer is a part of an industry-wide shift away from the metaverse and towards synthetic intelligence (AI), a path also taken by one in every of AR’s greatest boosters, Meta. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said last year that growth of AI is now the corporate’s “single largest funding.”
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