Alex Kipman is leaving Microsoft amid what an Insider report alleges to have stemmed from misconduct allegations leveled at the HoloLens co-creator.

The report maintains that Microsoft Cloud head Scott Guthrie is planning a reorganization of the departments, as Kipman is set to leave the company in the next two months as a part of transition process.

According to an email obtained by Insider, the company’s mixed reality hardware teams will join the Windows and Devices organization, which will be led by Panos Panay, whilst MR software teams will join the Experiences and Devices division under Jeff Teper.

The report details alleged actions by Kipman, including inappropriate behavior such as  “unwanted touching” of women employees and an instance wherein Kipman viewed an adult VR video in front of other employees.

“Managers warned employees not to leave women alone around Kipman,” the report maintains, according to three affected sources.

Insider says “[m]ore than 25 employees shared their experiences as part of a report that was compiled about Kipman.”

Military version of HoloLens (IVAS) | Image courtesy Microsoft

A former colleague told Insider that the pandemic was “[t]he best thing that happened, sadly,” as no one on the team had to interact with him personally.

Kipman hasn’t responded to any of these allegations. Microsoft also declined to confirm or deny the specific allegations against Kipman, however the company says it’s investigating every report and “for every claim found substantiated there is clear action taken.”

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This follows a Business Insider report from earlier this year that cast doubt on a prospective HoloLens 3 amid an internal division that may have hobbled the company’s efforts to release its next AR headset as planned.

That earlier report maintained that progress on fulfilling its $22 billion US defense contract, which aims to put HoloLens in battlefield roles over the next 10 years, has been stymied by internal production issues.

An alleged internal rift stemming from competing designs, one of which would completely reposition HoloLens as a consumer AR device, were citied as reasons for the lack of progress on release of the next-gen device.

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • K E

    First, let’s hope that this is resolved by Microsoft thoroughly enough for everyone involved to feel closure.

    Second, let’s hope that this reorg means a new start for Microsoft’s VR endeavors. They haven’t been that impressive in a while.

    Alex Kipman himself probably has a career ahead of him in the web3/crypto/NFT sphere.

  • Scientism

    That’s a predictable development, given that he’s infuriated the lefties at Microsoft by associating with the military.

    • Ben Jacobs

      If you google the terms microsoft and military you’ll understand why I’ve concluded you’re a little bit retarded.

  • Jason Redmon

    You don’t even know if it’s true yet, you nutjob.

  • And this is probably the tombstone on HoloLens

  • Yaaaaaahhhh….. That guy kinda beams out Skeevy. Maybe it’s just that one picture they showed above. He looks like a GameStop employee had a $5 thrift store jacket thrown on him and was pushed out in front of press. He DEFINITELY owns a sword collection. He reminds me of my last Dungeon Master, and that guy was always a little “rape-ee”. :/

    • Guest

      Wrong. He should make his comeback as lead singer of Journey!