Microsoft HoloLens Future in Question After Project Leader Departs

tech.hindustantimes.com:

Microsoft Corp. said the executive in charge of its HoloLens goggles is leaving the company, putting the future of its augmented-reality project in question.

Alex Kipman, who had been with the Redmond, Washington-based software firm since 2001, was accused of inappropriate behavior toward female employees at Microsoft by current and former workers in an Insider report in late May. He had been the public face of the HoloLens initiative and his departure comes at a sensitive time for the project, as Microsoft is deciding on whether to continue developing its own AR hardware, according to two people familiar with the matter.

HoloLens hardware will now be overseen by Panos Panay, who heads up Microsoft’s Surface computer division, while Jeff Teper, a corporate vice president managing areas like the Teams collaboration product, will take over the software part of the group, the people said. Microsoft Cloud chief Scott Guthrie detailed the changes on Tuesday in a memo sent to executive staff, according to the people, who declined to be named because the company isn’t publicly discussing the decision.

Before HoloLens, Kipman had stints at Microsoft’s Windows and Xbox teams and was one of its longest-tenured employees. The Insider report alleged that longtime executives at the company like Kipman had been allowed to engage in verbal and sexual harassment of workers.

Microsoft declined to comment on Kipman or the product’s future.

The changes come as Microsoft waits on the fate of a $21.9 billion contract that may determine whether there’s enough demand for the HoloLens to continue the product’s development. The company had agreed to provide a customized version of the head-worn accessory for the US Army in a 10-year accord that would