Alex Kipman at MWC 2019. Image credit: Laurent Giret
HoloLens Chief Alex Kipman will leave Microsoft following an internal reorg that the company announced yesterday. The information about his departure came from a new report from Business Insider, which has also been confirmed in an internal email obtained by GeekWire.
Kipman has been in hot waters since a previous Business Insider report cited him as one of the Microsoft execs perpetuating a culture of toxicity within the software giant. Microsoft has yet to confirm Kipman’s departure, but the internal memo from EVP of Microsoft’s Cloud and AI Group Scott Guthrie explains that Kipman is “committed to helping the teams with the transition process over the next two months and ensuring success before pursuing what is next for him.”
This latest internal reorg will result in Microsoft’s Mixed Reality Hardware teams, which are also working on the IVAS (Integrated Visual Augmentation System) project to join the Windows + Devices Group being led by Panos Panay. “Both HoloLens and IVAS are built using Windows, and this move further aligns our client platform efforts,” Guthrie explained in the email.
The Mixed Reality Presence and Collaboration teams, which are working on Microsoft Mesh and other collaboration experiences will join the Teams organization within the Experiences + Devices division led by Jeff Teper. “This move will strengthen and further integrate Microsoft’s collaboration efforts going forward,” explained Guthrie in the internal memo.
This new internal reorg comes at a time when the future of HoloLens seems to be up in the air. Microsoft’s $21.9 billion contract with the US Army to deliver a customized version of HoloLens for the military has hit some hurdles. Earlier this year, Business Insider also reported that Microsoft had killed HoloLens 3 over uncertainty about the platform’s future, a piece of information that Alex Kipman himself vigorously denied.