Google acquires part of HTC's Vive business towards development of Android XR
Google announced Android XR last year, an Android-based operating system that will power mixed reality headsets and smart glasses. Now, it has announced that it has signed a partnership with HTC's VIVE arm.
According to an official blog post, Google's agreement with HTC has resulted in a technical engineering team from HTC Vive joining Google. The team, which has a proven track record in VR development, will help Google accelerate its development of Android XR.
However, a Reuters report says that HTC is actually selling a part of its extended reality business to Google for a sum of $250 million. The sale will also include the transfer of some employees to Google, which goes in line with Google's own statement. The deal is expected to be finalized this quarter.
The report also includes a clarification from HTC that the agreement isn't a buyout nor an exclusive license
as HTC will still retain the ability to use, utilize, and further develop
the intellectual property rights it granted Google.
This is the second time Google has acquired a part of HTC. The first time was in 2017 when it purchased a part of HTC's smartphone division. That acquisition, which cost $1.1 billion, also saw some HTC employees join Google.
It has already been confirmed that Samsung will be the first manufacturer to launch a device powered by Android XR. The headset, which is codenamed Project Moohan was on display at the galaxy Unpacked event for the Galaxy S25 series but no one was allowed to use it.
The device is most likely not ready yet, probably on the software part; but hopefully that should change soon with the acquisition since the device is scheduled for launch this year.
