Google has agreed to buy part of HTC’s augmented reality (XR) business for $250 million, the latest step in the company’s push to develop virtual and augmented reality technologies through its recently launched Android XR platform.
According to Taiwanese company HTC, as part of the deal, part of the HTC VIVE engineering team will be transferred to Google and the company will provide Google with non-exclusive intellectual property rights. At the same time, HTC will retain the rights to develop and use the technology.
This is the second major deal between Google and HTC. In 2017, Google bought HTC’s smartphone division for $1.1 billion.
Google said that the acquisition will serve to further develop the Android XR platform for headsets and glasses. While tech giants are currently vying for leadership in XR technology, Apple and Meta remain the main leaders in this market.
Google and HTC have also said they will explore additional collaboration opportunities in the future.
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