Today, The Information reported that Microsoft has laid off its Industrial Metaverse team which had over 100 employees including engineers, program managers, and more. It is important to note that Microsoft formed the Industrial Metaverse Core team just last year.
The Industrial Metaverse team focused on how to use AI and digital technologies to enable people to interact with and optimize physical goods, assets, places, processes and equipment. The team was building the components that industrial customers can use to enable people and AI to work together to design, build, operate, and optimize across their key processes.
Microsoft already had hundreds of customers in the Industrial Metaverse space. Some of them include Mercedes Benz and Coco-Cola. We are not sure how this layoff will affect the existing customers.
Microsoft Project Bonsai was one of the key components of Microsoft’s Industrial Metaverse strategy. Project Bonsai was a low-code AI platform that speeds AI-powered automation development and part of the Autonomous Systems suite from Microsoft. Industries were able to build AI components that can provide operator guidance or make independent decisions to optimize process variables, improve production efficiency, and reduce downtime.
We have reached out to Microsoft to know more about Microsoft’s plans in the Industrial Metaverse space. We will update the article based on their response.
Update:
Microsoft sent us the following response regarding the layoffs:
“While we don’t comment on specific staffing details, Microsoft remains committed to the industrial metaverse. We are applying our focus to the areas of the industrial metaverse that matter most to our customers and they will see no change in how they are supported. We look forward to sharing additional information in the future.”
If you want to know more about Microsoft’s Industrial Metaverse work, watch the video below.
