HTC, Google conclude US$1.1 billion deal

2018/02/01

Taiwan’s leading smartphone maker HTC Corp. and Google Inc. officially concluded a US$1.1 billion talent acquisition deal Jan. 30, giving the U.S. tech giant a substantial boost in its quest to expand its footprint in the Asia-Pacific.
 
 Under the agreement, a large team of HTC talent will join Google’s hardware division to fuel innovation and engineer consumer devices. The new staff—many of whom worked closely with Google in developing its Pixel smartphone—will bring decades of experience in achieving milestones, particularly in the smartphone industry, said Rick Osterloh, senior vice president of the company’s hardware division.
 
“Taiwan is a key innovation and engineering hub for Google,” Osterloh said, adding that Taipei City will now become the company’s largest engineering site in the region.
 
 According to HTC, Google received a nonexclusive license for HTC intellectual property as part of the deal, which is a testament to the decadelong strategic relationship between the two companies. The Taiwan firm said that the agreement also represents a significant investment by Google in the country.
 
 HTC Corp. Chairperson Cher Wang described the arrangement as a new chapter for her company, adding that the firm will keep leading the industry with innovative products such as smartphones and its virtual reality system the HTC Vive. She said the top-notch personnel at HTC will continue to develop mobile devices and provide consumers with new experiences.
 
 The HTC-Google deal was originally announced late last year. It was not closed until this month due to the need to satisfy regulatory conditions and requirements, according to the Taiwan company.

Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/news.php?unit=10&post=128689)