HTC announces sale of part of its XR business to Google for US$250 million

HTC announced today that it has signed an agreement with Google. According to the agreement, HTC will receive a transaction price of US$250 million from Google, and some members of HTC's XR R&D team will join Google. In this agreement, HTC’s XR intellectual property rights will be granted a non-exclusive license to Google for use.

This agreement will further strengthen HTC’s strategy for sustainable development in the XR ecosystem, build the VIVE brand, achieve a more streamlined product portfolio, and focus on long-term planning and development of future platforms, higher operational efficiency, and financial flexibility. HTC will continue to invest in the development of future technology products such as VIVE XR all-round solutions, such as VIVE Focus Vision products.

At the same time, HTC will continue to build a virtual reality ecosystem, expand the VIVE territory, continue to invest in the innovation and opportunities brought by artificial intelligence and the metaverse, and unremittingly move towards the VIVERSE vision in a rapidly changing global economic environment.

This agreement will help Google realize the promise of the Android XR platform, accelerate the development of the head-mounted device and glasses ecosystem, and bring more help to promote the XR industry. After the technical team members with innovative R&D capabilities in the field of XR are transferred to Google, this agreement also realizes one of Google's major investments in establishing an innovation and technology base in Taiwan.

As the transaction still needs to meet the conditions stipulated in the agreement, it is expected to be completed within the first quarter of this year.