Leap Motion, a $94 million startup, has lost its VP of design as the company moves offices to cut costs

In 2012, Leap Motion was one of the hottest startups in Silicon Valley, partially propelled on the strength of a viral video that promised that its technology could replace the mouse or the trackpad.

Leap Motion makes a system comprised of both hardware and software that uses sensors to track hand movements and enables users to control computers with gestures.

But now, one executive at Leap Motion who has made his own viral videos about the future of technology has announced that he is resigning from the company. Keiichi Matsuda, formerly the VP of design at Leap Motion, didn't reply to Twitter DMs or a LinkedIn message requesting additional comment on his departure.

Matsuda is most well-known for a video called HYPER-REALITY, which depicts a dystopian version of what daily life could look like if augmented reality technology indulges its worst impulses. 

"Matsuda led the company's design research studio in London, delivering fundamental research to help create new standards for interaction design and user experience," Leap Motion said in a press release about his departure.

Leap Motion has focused more in recent years on its augmented reality headset design, called North Star, which uses Leap Motion's hand-tracking technology and displays advanced computer graphics inside the headset's lenses, competing with Magic Leap One and Microsoft Hololens. 

Leap Motion's previous product was a controller that plugged into a Mac or PC and allowed users to control software or other experiences with their hands with no other controllers or trackers. But sales of Leap Motion's controller were underwhelming and never good enough to sustain a company, multiple former employees told Business Insider. 

His announcement comes as Leap Motion has moved out of its San Francisco office in a bid to cut costs, multiple people familiar with the matter told Business Insider.

Leap Motion most recently raised a $50 million Series C round from JP Morgan Asset Management last July, bringing the company's total funds raised to $94 million, according to PitchBook data. 

A Leap Motion representative sent Business Insider a link to the company's press release on Matsuda's departure and declined to comment about the office move. 

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