Google Acquires Vive Engineering Team for $250M, Sparking Speculation on HTC’s Future Plans

Google recently made a significant move, investing $250 million to acquire a team of HTC’s XR engineers, a strategic decision aimed at speeding up the development of its Android XR platform across various headsets and glasses. This acquisition highlights Google’s ambitions in the extended reality (XR) space, a market that is becoming increasingly competitive with players like Samsung poised to launch their own Android XR-based headsets soon.

Last month, Google announced the Android XR platform, signaling a pivotal change in its technological landscape. The industry buzzed with excitement about Google’s renewed interest in the XR consumer space. However, because of Google’s history of discontinuing projects prematurely—remember Google Daydream?—some skepticism still lingers about their long-term commitment.

A Road to VR article delves deeper into Google’s efforts to address some of these concerns, but the memory of Google’s previous ventures, like the Daydream headset launched in 2016, serves as a reminder of the challenges involved in sustaining such projects.

In a recent announcement, Google shared that it had signed a new agreement with HTC. Although the specifics of this agreement remain under wraps, it’s clear that Google is eyeing HTC’s renowned expertise in hardware development to bolster its position in the XR world.

Google explained, “We have been investing in XR for over a decade, and just last month we launched the Android XR platform with the help of our strategic industry partners. Today, we’ve reached an agreement to bring some of the talented HTC VIVE engineering team on board, pending usual closing conditions. They bring invaluable experience and a proven track record in VR, which will help us accelerate the Android XR platform’s growth across various devices.”

Interestingly, this isn’t Google’s first collaboration with HTC. Back in 2017, Google spent a considerable $1.1 billion to acquire HTC’s smartphone engineering team. Not long after, HTC merged their smartphone and VR divisions, making a clear push towards XR innovation.

While the finer points of this deal aren’t fully disclosed, HTC’s current standing in the industry remains intriguing. Based in Taoyuan, Taiwan, HTC is known for producing XR headsets for enterprise and tech-savvy consumers, including their latest release, the Vive Focus Vision. This standalone mixed reality headset combines cutting-edge features from previous models like the Vive Focus 3 and Vive Elite XR.

Meanwhile, HTC has occasionally ventured outside the XR realm, albeit with varying success. In 2018, they introduced the HTC Exodus 1, a blockchain-centric phone, followed by a 5G hub release in 2019 during the initial 5G wave. Neither product is currently available for sale, leaving the company’s future moves open to speculation.