HoloLens AR Headset Development Team Leader At Microsoft Forced To Resign Due To Sexual Assault Case

Alex Kipman was accused of sexual harassment. (photo: twitter @HassanRezkHabib )

JAKARTA - The Insider reports that Microsoft's Alex Kipman, who led the team that developed the company's HoloLens augmented reality headset and Kinect motion controller for Xbox and serves as one of Microsoft's top technical partners, has resigned following allegations of verbal harassment and sexual harassment.

Microsoft did not immediately confirm or deny the reports, but GeekWire has corroborated it by obtaining an internal email from Microsoft cloud boss Scott Guthrie.

'We have decided together that this is the right time for him to leave the company to pursue other opportunities,' Guthrie said in his memo.'

The memo, which can be read on GeekWire, says nothing about the allegations, and says Kipman will stay for another two months to help with the transition. It also details a reorganization for Kipman's entire mixed reality division, with the hardware team joining Windows + Devices org Panos Panay.

According to Insider sources, more than 25 Microsoft employees contributed to internal reports of alleged misconduct by Kipman, including instances of unwanted touching, as well as one time he allegedly watched obscene VR videos in front of employees in the office.

Today's report comes after an earlier Insider report on May 25, in which dozens of employees alerted the media about Kipman's alleged behavior. Three employees told Insider that they had been warned not to leave women alone around Kipman.

When Insider contacted at the time, Microsoft neither confirmed nor denied the specific allegations of misconduct against women, but denied that Kipman began to be accompanied by human resources personnel in meetings.

A former Microsoft executive was so distressed by Kipman's behavior that they suggested the COVID-19 outbreak had actually made things better. "The best thing that happened, sadly, was a pandemic," they told Insider. "So we never had to interact with him directly."

Kipman has not responded to Insider's repeated requests for comment on the allegations. He hasn't tweeted since May 23.

In February, Kipman responded to an earlier Insider report stating that the HoloLens division was falling apart, and that HoloLens 3 may have been canceled, by saying "Don't believe what you read on the internet."

Insiders aren't the only media pointing out some of the troubles in the division, though: The Wall Street Journal reported in January that more than 70 Microsoft employees on the HoloLens team had left the company by 2021, with more than 40 joining Meta.

Microsoft is counting on a big win for HoloLens with the US Army, which orders as many as 120,000 IVAS headsets for the army. The order would have been worth $21.88 billion for the company over 10 years, but the Army has delayed the deal, and the Pentagon audit isn't particularly optimistic about the idea.

“Acquiring IVAS without obtaining user acceptance could result in the wastage of up to US$21.88 billion of taxpayer funds to implement systems that the Army may not intend to use or use as intended,” reads part of the April 2022 report from the Department of Defense Inspector General. However, Guthrie stated in his memo that the Army approved operational tests last month.