I think the insinuation is the Microsoft Research is beholden to business drivers, and therefore not truly 'free, blue-sky' research.
That doesn't seem unfair, given the layoffs.
That doesn't seem unfair, given the layoffs.
For what it's worth, MSR historically hasn't been beholden to find commercial applications for their work. If anything, it's usually disappointing how much really cool stuff they come up with that isn't ever productized in an accessible way.