Google is paying HTC $250 million in a deal that will give the company’s Android XR plans. Under the terms of their agreement, other members of the HTC Vive engineering team will join Google, which it describes as “an incredibly strong technology team with a proven track record in the VR space.” HTC released the consumer version of its first Vive VR headset, developed in collaboration with Valve, back in 2016. Last year, it introduced the Vive Focus Vision more than a year after it released its first standalone consumer headset, the Vive XR Elite.
In addition to absorbing some members of the Vive team, Google will also get a non-exclusive license to use HTC’s augmented reality technology. HTC is still using its IPs, and vows to continue developing and supporting its XR headsets. The companies will also “explore opportunities for future cooperation.” Google says the deal will help its “acceleration in the headset and glasses ecosystem.” The company unveiled its vision for the Android XR ecosystem in December, which will include a series of headsets and virtual and mixed reality glasses. We should see the first Android XR devices this year, including one Project Moohan with code from the Google-Samsung partnership.
The Google and HTC deal is subject to customary closing conditions and will be finalized sometime this first quarter.
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