Back in 2021, when the virtual world and virtual assets were the topics of nine out of ten conversations, Microsoft rushed into Metaverse development and envisioned an eminent bright future for it. Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO, said in his keynote speech in 2021 that the metaverse would revolutionize online interactions like the invention of the World Wide Web in the 90s.
Based on his speech, he had a very high opinion of the Metaverse: “When we talk about the metaverse, we’re describing both a new platform and a new application type, similar to how we talked about the web and websites in the early ’90s…. In a sense, the metaverse enables us to embed computing into the real world and to embed the real world into computing, bringing real presence to any digital space. For years, we’ve talked about creating this digital representation of the world, but now, we actually have the opportunity to go into that world and participate in it.
He added: It’s no longer just looking at a camera view of a factory floor; you can be on the floor,” he said. “… no longer just videoconferencing with colleagues; you can be with them in the same room. It’s no longer just playing a game with friends; you can be in the game with them.”
Microsoft prioritizes AI over Metaverse development
However, Metaverse development is not Microsoft’s top priority anymore, and the company has shifted its attention to Artificial Intelligence (AI). Of course, although Microsoft denies the discontinuation of Metaverse development, it has practically given up on Metaverse. Microsoft announced recently that it plans to lay off around 10,000, among which are all 100 members of the Industrial Metaverse Core team and other Metaverse-related staff. The redundancies show more than anything else that Metaverse is a thing of the past for Microsoft. On the other hand, Microsoft has invested more than $10 billion in AI and claims to implement the technology in every project. Nonetheless, regarding how quickly Microsoft’s opinion changed about Metaverse, it is still too soon to decide whether it will stick with AI.
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