Microsoft: Why AI might be the reason behind Panos Panay’s exit from Microsoft

Just a few days before Microsoft’s ‘special event’ for this year, Panos Panay, who led the Surface and Windows division for over two decades, made a surprise announcement of his departure. Business Insider reports that Panay was unhappy with the recent changes at the Windows and Surface division, and that is what led to his rumoured move to Amazon.
Panay is reportedly joining Amazon to head the devices department, taking over from the retiring head, David Limp.
This year, we saw some significant involvement and investment from Microsoft in artificial intelligence, roping in OpenAI, and bringing AI wherever possible within its suite of products. But, that heavy investment reportedly came at the cost of job cuts, which saw 10,000 employees being let go, and spending cuts across divisions, including Panay’s devices division.
Windows licensing and hardware did not meet Microsoft’s financial projections. In response, the company significantly reduced the resources allocated to Panay’s division. According to insiders, Panay had requested more power and resources for his team, but Microsoft did not grant his requests.
Microsoft decided to cut back on its device portfolio, affecting the Surface lineup, reports the Business Insider. Some of the experimental products that Panay led, such as Surface headphones, Surface Studio and Surface Duo, were put on hold indefinitely. Panay’s team had also planned an 11-inch Surface Pro, which was abandoned in favour of the Surface Go 4.
Going ahead, Microsoft is focusing only on its popular offerings, which include the Surface Pro, Surface Laptop – the Go and Studio models, Surface Hub and Surface Go. And that could be the reason behind Panos Panay’s sudden exit, since he was not allowed to continue work on new experimental devices, as the likes of Surface Duo.
Sources tell that Panay has always advocated for experimental hardware ideas, but Microsoft is seemingly. The company was working on a foldable phone and tablet, a Surface monitor, and a mini desktop, but these experimental devices have yet to be a priority for now.

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