HTC Corp (宏達電), which supplies VIVE virtual-reality (VR) headsets, yesterday said that Google LLC has agreed to buy its extended reality (XR) intellectual property (IP) and acquire some of its XR-related research and development (R&D) employees for US$250 million with an aim to expand its ecosystems of Android-based XR and smart glasses.
The agreement might be similar to a deal HTC clinched with Google in 2018. At the time, Google offered US$1.1 billion to acquire about 2,000 R&D workers, who helped create Google’s first Pixel phone, as well as access to IP owned by HTC.
The Taoyuan-based company yesterday declined to disclose the number of R&D workers involved in the XR-deal with Google.
Photo: Reuters
HTC believes it would still have sufficient R&D resources to develop new innovative products following the transaction, company spokesman Lu Chia-te (盧佳德) told a media briefing at the Taiwan Stock Exchange in Taipei.
Lu made the remarks in response to questions about whether HTC is capable of rolling out impressive products with a downsized R&D team, as the firm has substantially streamlined its smartphone business as a result of the disposal of the team in the Pixel deal.
At the end of March last year, HTC had hired 2,073 employees, with less than 2 percent holding a doctorate degree, the company’s annual report showed.
“This 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,” Lu said.
“HTC’s commitment to deliver innovative VIVE XR solutions, such as the VIVE Focus Vision, remains unchanged, with existing product lines and solutions to be supported and developed without interruption,” he added.
The new deal with Google would grant the US technology giant non-exclusive access to HTC’s XR IP, meaning HTC would also have the right to utilize that IP to develop new XR devices, Lu said.
By utilizing HTC’s XR IP, Google would be able to accelerate the expansion of its Android-based VR headsets and smart glasses ecosystems, Lu said.
HTC would not rule out the possibility of exploring new partnerships with Google in the XR area, Lu said.
The companies are to wrap up the transaction this quarter, he said.
The company has been struggling to eke out a profit over the past six-and-half years. Losses widened to NT$2.6 billion (US$79.34 million) in the first three quarters of last year, compared with losses of NT$2.5 billion in the same period of 2023. That translated into losses of NT$3.12 per share, worsening from NT$3.01.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which supplies advanced chips to Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc, yesterday reported NT$1.046 trillion (US$33.1 billion) in revenue for last quarter, driven by constantly strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips, falling in the upper end of its forecast. Based on TSMC’s financial guidance, revenue would expand about 22 percent sequentially to the range from US$32.2 billion to US$33.4 billion during the final quarter of 2024, it told investors in October last year. Last year in total, revenue jumped 31.61 percent to NT$3.81 trillion, compared with NT$2.89 trillion generated in the year before, according to
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
RSS