GoKawiilMicrosoft shuts down The Garage maker-space program
Microsoft has told employees it is winding down The Garage as a centralized program, according to an internal FAQ reported by Notepad and first disclosed by GeekWire. The Garage, based at Microsoft's Redmond campus with about 15 locations worldwide, let staff prototype hardware and software during hackathons over its 17-year history, producing projects like the Seeing AI accessibility app and Mouse Without Borders. Microsoft has also taken down The Garage's hall-of-fame website that documented past projects.
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The closure removes a long-running outlet that let rank-and-file employees experiment outside normal product cycles and sometimes get noticed by senior leaders, including CEO Satya Nadella, who regularly attended its hackathons. Microsoft says it will look for other ways to encourage a 'hacker mindset,' suggesting grassroots innovation may continue in a less centralized form rather than disappear entirely. Deleting the archive of past projects could also make it harder for employees and the public to trace the origins of tools now embedded in Microsoft products.
- Microsoft is ending The Garage as a centralized maker-space program, per an internal FAQ.
- The program spanned about 15 sites globally and produced products like Seeing AI and Mouse Without Borders over 17 years.
- Microsoft has removed the Garage hall-of-fame website that archived its project history.
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Published there as: “Microsoft shuts down its beloved maker space”
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