Google is paying HTC $250 million in cash for a deal that will give the larger company's plans for Android XR a boost. According to their terms agreementsome members of the HTC Vive engineering team will join Google, which describes them as “an incredibly strong technical team with a proven track record in the virtual reality space.” HTC has released a consumer version of its first Vive VR headsetdeveloped in collaboration with Valve back in 2016. Last year the company launched Vive Focus Vision more than a year after it released its first standalone headset to consumers, Vive XR Elite.
In addition to bringing in some members of the Vive team, Google will also receive a non-exclusive license to use HTC's augmented reality technologies. HTC can still use its own IP addresses and promises to continue developing and supporting its XR headsets. The companies are also “exploring future collaboration opportunities.” Google says the deal will help “accelerate its growth in the headsets and glasses ecosystem.” The company outlined its vision of a unified Android XR ecosystem in December, which will cover a range of virtual and mixed reality headsets and glasses. We're sure to see the first Android XR devices this year, including one codenamed Project Moohan, a collaboration between Google and Samsung.
The agreement between Google and HTC remains subject to customary closing conditions and will be completed sometime this first quarter.
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