Meta, formerly Facebook, appears to be poaching employees from Apple and Microsoft to development of its metaverse. Within the past year, roughly 100 Microsoft augmented reality team employees have left to join Meta, The Wall Street Journal reports.
According to employees who spoke with The Wall Street Journal, the companyis mainly poaching employees knowledgeable about Microsoft’s HoloLens AR headsets. In fact, over 40 members of the HoloLens team left Microsoft for positions at Meta within the past year. Those who left to join Meta include team leaders Charlie Han and Josh Miller. Han was a member of the HoloLens display team and is now Display director at Meta. In comparison, Han oversaw customer feedback on the headset.
Currently, Apple is attempting to entice workers to stay by offering bonuses of up to 180,000 USD, according to Bloomberg. The company is also offering profitable stock options to dissuade employees from leaving. Stealing employees isn’t Meta’s first move against the tech giant. Zuckerberg has also called Apple out on its transaction fees in Facebook posts.
Microsoft’s HoloLens project was announced in 2016, and the HoloLens is now one of the most cutting-edge headsets on the market. Microsoft plans to launch its metaverse, Mesh for Microsoft Teams, despite the loss of employees in 2022. Microsoft has the first-mover advantage in augmented reality, making its employee’s invaluable assets.
From Facebook To Meta
Meta was originally Facebook. However, the company has goals that reach far beyond its social media platform. In October 2021, the company underwent a significant rebranding to better encompass its metaverse ambitions. Since the rebranding, Meta’s Reality Labs has made a successful prototype of VR haptic gloves. Meta also owns Oculus, a well-known VR headset manufacturer.
Meta has clearly communicated its desire to dominate the metaverse. However, the company is receiving harsh criticisms from NFTs, blockchain, and cryptocurrencies leaders. According to Jenny Ta, co-founder of Hold Assets Inc., Zuckerberg should step down after the history of data mining and privacy issues Facebook has had under his leadership. “In order for him to have a clean slate for Meta, he must step down, and he must have a new CEO to run it,” Ta told Cointelegraph in an interview.
Jack Brassell is a freelance journalist and aspiring novelist. Jack is a self-proclaimed nerd with a lifelong passion for storytelling. As an author, Jack writes mostly horror and young adult fantasy. Also an avid gamer, she works as the lead news editor at Hardcore Droid. When she isn't writing or playing games, she can often be found binge-watching Parks & Rec or The Office, proudly considering herself to be a cross between Leslie Knope and Pam Beasley.
