Microsoft has pulled the curtain on its industrial Metaverse division as part of recently announced layoffs to strategically plan spending during the ongoing global recessionary climate. The hundred employees who were part of that team have reportedly been laid off, putting future plans for that unit on hold indefinitely. This particular department was brought together just four months ago to study how the Metaverse technology might fit into industrial operations. In all, Microsoft laid off 10,000 employees amid the ongoing industrial slump that was announced in January this year.
Microsofthas chosen for now to favor short-term projects that could generate more revenue faster than projects. This would take a long time to bear fruit.
Products already completed by Microsoft’s “Industrial Metaverse Core” group during the months that group has been active are independently supported by the software giant, despite the recent turn of events.
“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. Microsoft remains committed to the industrial metaverse,” Coindesk quoted As Microsoft said in an email interaction.
A prominent element of Web3 ecosystemThe Metaverse refers to a fully functional virtual environment that allows people from anywhere in the world to connect and collaborate as digital avatars – without leaving the comfort of their homes.
social media, Playas well as automotive industry are expected to be big beneficiaries of the boom in industrial metaverse adoption.
According to reports from Bloomberg Intelligence expected the market opportunity for the metaverse is projected to reach US$800 billion (around Rs.59.58.72 billion) by 2024.
Nishant Batra, Chief Strategy and Technology Officer at Nokia, recently wrote in a post that Metaverse technology is expected to see broad industrial adoption before individual consumers come on board the virtual universe ecosystem. The post was published at the World Economic Forum (WEF).
For all the excitement surrounding the Metaverse’s potential, Microsoft hasn’t spared related teams from these recent layoffs.
In January, Microsoft switch off two upcoming entities dedicated to virtual reality (VR) and the metaverse – Altspacevr and the Mixed Reality Tool Kit.
