The hype around the metaverse is still evident. However, it doesn’t seem to be working out for certain platforms. The leading tech firm, Microsoft decided to put a hold on its Industrial Metaverse project. In addition to this, the Microsoft Metaverse team was also being laid off.
According to a recent report, Microsoft decided to scrap this project as it intends to lay its focus on short-term projects. The company believes that it will take these initiatives far less time to produce significant income as opposed to long-term projects.
It should be noted that this project was started back in October. Within four months of its existence, the initiative was shelved. The Industrial Metaverse Core, a special metaverse team, primarily concentrated on settings found in industries. According to reports, it specifically sought to provide interfaces for controlling control systems in electrical power plants, robots, and transportation networks.
A total of 100 members were working on the Microsoft Metaverse project. All of them were reportedly let go. Microsoft created quite the buzz for following its counterparts Google, Amazon, and Meta in carrying out severe job cuts. The firm noted that it intends to bid adieu to 10,000 employees.
Is Microsoft chasing a new rabbit [AI]?
Technology is thriving. Advancement in this field is at its peak and several technologies are becoming a fad even before they are widely adopted. While Microsoft has engaged in several other metaverse-related projects, it seems to be chasing down artificial intelligence [AI].
AI has taken the world by storm. Microsoft was trying to get to the top of this game. The firm recently partnered up with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT through a multi-billion dollar investment. More recently, the tech giant announced the integration of ChatGPT into the Bing Search Engine.
It looks like Mircosoft was prioritizing its AI developments at the moment as opposed to the metaverse.