Microsoft HoloLens boss Alex Kipman is out after misconduct allegations

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

According to Insider, one of Microsoft's top technical fellows has resigned after being accused of verbal abuse and sexual harassment.

Microsoft wouldn't immediately confirm or deny the report, but GeekWire has already confirmed it by obtaining an internal email from Microsoft cloud boss Scott Guthrie: "We have mutually decided that this is the right time for him to leave the company." The memo, which you can read at GeekWire, doesn't say anything about the allegations, but it does say that the man will stay on for two more months. The hardware teams have joined the Windows + Devices organization.

According to Insider's sources, over 25 Microsoft employees contributed to an internal report about alleged misconduct by Kipman, which included instances of unwanted touching, as well as one time he allegedly watched a lewd virtual reality video in front of employees in the office.

After a previous Insider report on May 25th, dozens of employees told the publication about their boss. Insider spoke to three employees who said they had been warned not to leave women alone. Microsoft wouldn't confirm or deny specific allegations of sexual harassment against women, but did deny that human resources personnel were in meetings chaperoned by women

The best thing that happened, sadly, was the Pandemic, according to one former Microsoft executive. We didn't have to talk to him in person.

Insider hasn't heard from him since May 23rd.

In February, Kipman responded to an earlier Insider report that suggested the HoloLens division was a mess, and said "Don't believe what you read on the internet." The Wall Street Journal reported in January that over 70 Microsoft employees had left the company in order to join Meta.

The US Army ordered as many as 120,000 IVAS headsets for soldiers, and Microsoft was counting on a big win for its augmented reality product. The order would be worth $21.88 billion to the company over 10 years, but the Army has delayed it, and a Pentagon audit wasn't too bullish on the idea. Procuring IVAS without attaining user acceptance could result in wasting up to $21.88 billion in taxpayer funds to field a system that soldiers may not want to use or use as intended. The Army approved an operational test last month.

Even though the state of the program is not known, the man is out.

Microsoft wouldn't say anything about the report.