HoloLens co-creator resigns following misconduct allegations

HoloLens lead developer Alex Kipman has resigned from Microsoft following recent allegations of inappropriate behaviour and misconduct.

Kipman was accused of “unwanted touching” of colleagues in an Insider report at the end of May, which also cited an incident where he had watched a video described by a colleague as “VR porn” in front of a group of employees. Several women described the situation as “very uncomfortable,” with many choosing to leave the room during the incident. Kipman was also accused of cultivating “a culture that diminishes women’s contributions.” After the report, Microsoft gave a fairly generic comment to Eurogamer, saying “every reported claim we receive is investigated, and for every claim found substantiated there is clear action taken.”

The executive is now parting ways with Microsoft. In an internal email seen by GeekWire, Microsoft Cloud & AI group head Scott Guthrie wrote that the two had “mutually decided” to part ways, saying it was a matter of “organisational changes” to “align and further accelerate our overall Metaverse efforts.”

“Over the last several months, Alex Kipman and I have been talking about the team’s path going forward,” Guthrie writes. “We have mutually decided that this is the right time for him to leave the company to pursue other opportunities. I appreciate the tremendous vision Alex has provided to Microsoft over the years, and all that he has done to advance our Metaverse offerings.”

The email concluded that Kipman’s resignation and further changes to team structures are “effective immediately.”