Microsoft has disbanded its Industrial Metaverse Project Team that was formed four months ago and was charged with helping clients deploy and use the metaverse in industrial settings, The Information reports, citing a person privy to the matter.

The project team had approximately 100 employees and all have been laid off, according to the report.

The Industrial Metaverse Core Team was created in October and was charged with developing software interfaces for operating the control systems for electrical power plants, transportation networks, and industrial robotics.

Internally, the team was known as Project Bonsai. It is now a casualty of Microsoft’s plan, announced last month to lay off 10,000 staff,  approximately 4.5% of the company’s workforce. The cuts in the industrial metaverse team are part of this broader cost-cutting effort.

Microsoft is planning to prioritize its shorter-term projects over those that will require a lot more time to generate meaningful revenues, according to this source. In this regard, it looks like Microsoft is keen on avoiding the pitfalls Meta has found itself in with its metaverse investments, sinking tens of billions of dollars in its lossmaking metaverse projects.

The Industrial Metaverse Core Team targeted clients in diverse sectors including energy, retail financial services, and healthcare among others such as the development of software interfaces that can be applied in driving metaverse-related projects.

The leading tech players like Meta Platforms, Sony, and Microsoft have enthusiastically embraced the metaverse which is still a fledgling industry yet to break out into the mainstream.

In spite of the disbandment, Microsoft insists it is still committed to the industrial metaverse. The company says it is focusing on the areas of the industrial metaverse with the greatest relevance to its customers and that those clients will not be affected by how they are supported. The company promises to share additional information on its work in this market segment in the future.

Source: The Information

https://virtualrealitytimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/microsoft-logo-transparent-background-e1438677081322-600x285.jpghttps://virtualrealitytimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/microsoft-logo-transparent-background-e1438677081322-150x90.jpgRob GrantBusinessMicrosoft has disbanded its Industrial Metaverse Project Team that was formed four months ago and was charged with helping clients deploy and use the metaverse in industrial settings, The Information reports, citing a person privy to the matter. The project team had approximately 100 employees and all have been laid...VR, Oculus Rift, and Metaverse News - Cryptocurrency, Adult, Sex, Porn, XXX