The deal includes transferring some of HTC VIVE’s engineering team to Google and providing non-exclusive intellectual property rights, while HTC will retain the ability to use and develop the technology.
This marks the second major partnership between the two companies, following Google’s $1.1 billion acquisition of HTC’s smartphone division in 2017.
Google stated that the acquisition will speed up the development of its Android XR platform for headsets and glasses. This move comes as tech giants compete to lead in XR technology, with Apple and Meta currently dominating the virtual reality space.
Both companies have expressed interest in exploring further collaboration opportunities.