Microsoft Research's new Special Projects Group aims to disrupt things

Microsoft is no stranger to advancing computing technologies, as they’re one of the largest employers of computer science PhDs in the world through their Microsoft Research initiative. Microsoft Research is concerned with evolving today’s technologies to be better, not necessarily inventing new categories. Now, according to All about Microsoft’s Mary Jo Foley, that’s about to change.

Foley reports from her sources that a Microsoft Research Special Projects group has been formed, and it’s headed by former DARPA innovation boss Norman Whitaker. The group is reportedly focused on "disruptive technologies that could benefit the company and society" and it sounds a lot like Google X, which is Google’s advanced research division. That group works on crazy ideas like drones, self-driving cars and balloon-powered internet.

What exactly the group will come up with is not too clear, though Microsoft certainly has the resources – in terms of money and manpower – to make a competitive dent against Google, who is aggressively developing next-generation technologies.

Microsoft themselves have declined comment on the research division, though the term ‘Special Projects group’ is referenced in a recent job description from the company.

Read more at All About Microsoft.

Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central. He is also the head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007, when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and watches. He has been reviewing laptops since 2015 and is particularly fond of 2-in-1 convertibles, ARM processors, new form factors, and thin-and-light PCs. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.