In Virtual Reality News
January 23, 2025 – HTC, a provider of premium virtual and extended reality (VR/XR) solutions, has today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with Google. Under the agreement, HTC will receive USD $250 million in cash from Google, and certain HTC employees from the company’s XR team will join Google as a result.
HTC stated that as part of the transaction, Google will receive a non-exclusive license for HTC’s XR intellectual property (IP). The company also added that following the agreement, HTC and Google will explore future collaboration opportunities.
In the short announcement, HTC commented that the agreement “reinforces HTC’s strategy of continued development around the XR ecosystem, enabling a more streamlined product portfolio with a focus on platforms, greater operational efficiency and financial flexibility.”
The company added that its commitment to delivering its VIVE XR solutions such as the recently launched VIVE Focus Vision remains unchanged, with existing product lines and solutions to be supported and developed without interruption.
For Google, the agreement will help to further strengthen its commitment to the Android XR platform and its acceleration across the headset and glasses ecosystem, as Google looks to re-establish its foothold in the XR industry.
Finally, HTC noted that the transfer to Google of a “strong technical team with a proven track record in the VR/XR space” builds upon Google’s significant investment in Taiwan as a key innovation and technology hub.
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in Q1 2025. Evercore served as financial advisor to HTC and Gibson Dunn and Tsar & Tsai acted as legal counsel.
For more information on HTC and its virtual and extended reality hardware and software solutions, please visit the company’s website.
Image credit: HTC / Google
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About the author
Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.