HTC to sell part of XR business to Google for US$250 million

Taipei, Jan. 23 (CNA) Taiwan-based smartphone brand HTC Corp. said Thursday that it would sell part of its extended reality (XR) business to U.S.-based tech giant Google for US$250 million.

HTC said at a news conference that some of its XR research and development employees would be transferred to Google LLC as part of the deal.

However, specific details such as the number of employees who will join Google from HTC cannot be disclosed due to confidentially clauses in the agreement, HTC added.

Under the agreement, Google will also obtain a nonexclusive license for HTC's XR intellectual property rights, HTC said.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of this year, according to HTC.

HTC's existing businesses will not be affected by the deal, said Lu Chia-te (盧佳德), the chief legal officer at HTC.

This is not the first deal between HTC and Google. In 2017, Google acquired HTC's Pixel developer team and a non-exclusive license for related HTC patents for US$1.1 billion.

Google said in a separate statement that it has been developing in the XR field for more than 10 years and hopes to continue to deepen its investment in this area.

Google's Android XR platform aimed at powering devices like headsets and glasses and making possible new experiences, such as apps, running on them was launched in December 2024, the U.S. company said, adding that the new agreement with HTC will enable Google to move further towards innovations in Android XR development.

Since 2021, Taiwan has become Google's largest hardware research and development base outside of its headquarters in the United States, Google said.