Microsoft winds down The Garage maker spaces and centralized innovation program

Microsoft is closing The Garage, a network of maker spaces where staff developed experimental software and hardware during annual hackathons. According to an internal FAQ seen by Notepad, the company is winding down the program as a centralized function. GeekWire first reported the closure.

What did The Garage do?

The Garage served as a hub for employee-led innovation, allowing staff to prototype apps and hardware. The main space in Redmond, Washington, coordinated around 15 locations across the US, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Employees used these facilities to turn hobbies into full Microsoft products or build new learning tools.

What projects came from The Garage?

Over its 17-year history, the program produced several notable services. These include Seeing AI, an app that describes objects to people with low vision, which shipped ten years ago after a 2015 hackathon. Other outputs include Mouse Without Borders, which lets users control multiple PCs, and the Xbox Adaptive Controller, which originated from experiments with Kinect motion-sensing technology.

How is Microsoft handling the closure?

Microsoft states it will continue to explore ways to help employees build skills and collaborate across boundaries. However, the company has removed the Microsoft Garage hall of fame website, erasing the public record of top projects. CEO Satya Nadella regularly attended hackathons to review projects, but the centralized structure is ending.

What does this mean for operations?

The closure ends the centralized function of The Garage. Microsoft says it will continue to explore new ways to help employees bring a hacker mindset to their work. The physical spaces, including the main hub in Redmond, are being shut down as part of this wind-down.

Questions to ask your suppliers

Teams usually need to verify how vendors manage internal innovation and whether experimental features reach production. Check whether your suppliers have formal processes for testing new tools developed by employees. Ask if their security reviews cover prototypes created outside standard development cycles. Ensure your contract clauses address the lifecycle of such experimental software. Inform your risk management team about any changes in how suppliers validate new internal projects before release.

What to do and how to stay safe: Microsoft

• Review vendor agreements to see how they handle experimental or internal-only software development.
• Ask suppliers if they have security review processes for tools created during hackathons or maker events.
• Monitor for announcements about changes in how vendors validate new features from internal teams.
• Ensure your organization tracks which supplier products originated from experimental programs.

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Frequently asked questions

Did Microsoft cancel all hackathons?

No, Microsoft says it will continue to explore new ways to help employees collaborate and build skills, but the centralized Garage program is ending.

What happened to the Garage website?

Microsoft has removed the Microsoft Garage hall of fame website, which previously listed top employee-led projects.

How long did The Garage exist?

The Garage operated for 17 years, producing apps like Seeing AI and hardware like the Xbox Adaptive Controller.