HTC Vive Expects Boost in VR Business After Firm Divests Pixel Smartphone Unit
Dou Shicong
DATE:  Sep 22 2017
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
HTC Vive Expects Boost in VR Business After Firm Divests Pixel Smartphone Unit HTC Vive Expects Boost in VR Business After Firm Divests Pixel Smartphone Unit

(Yicai Global) Sept. 22 -- Taiwanese electronics maker High Tech Computer Corp.'s [TPE:2498] (HTC) Vive team, which focuses on the development of products for the virtual reality sector, expects to receive a boost after the firm completes its divestment of smartphone operations to Alphabet Inc's [NASDAQ:GOOG] Google for USD1.1 billion.

HTC is set to improve the build an ecosystem with virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence, Wang Congqing, HTC Vive's China president, said on Sept. 21. The VR business will continue to thrive, he added in response to investors' questions on how the divestment will affect the firm's virtual reality business.

The company sold its smartphone factory in Shanghai for USD95.56 million (CNY630 million) in March 2017. It may sell other facilities in its efforts to ramp up its virtual reality business.

The division was already relatively independent of the smartphone unit prior to the sale, said Bao Yongzhe, vice president of new virtual reality technology.

HTC Vive, a head-mounted VR display developed by HTC and Valve Corp., was released in March 2015, allowing users to experience virtual reality games through Valve's Steam platform.

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Keywords:   HTC VIVE,GOOGLE,VR