Google is making another huge investment into smartphone hardware. This time, the company is committing to acquire part of HTC’s mobile division team for $1.1 billion. This will bring more than 2,000 research and design staffers to Google.
In the company blog post, Rick Osterlo, Google’s hardware boss, write that “These future fellow Googlers are amazing folks we’ve already been working with closely on the Pixel smartphone line, and we’re excited to see what we can do together as one team.”
“The deal also includes a non-exclusive license for HTC intellectual property.”
Peter Shen, HTC’s chief financial offer, said that HTC is trimming down from 4,000 to 2,000 staffers. Google is taking over 2,000 staffers in this deal, according to New York Times. Google seems to be taking over talent as opposed to resource acquisition that traditionally occurs.
Even after sending over staff members to Google, HTC is expected to keep its own smartphone business going. HTC CEO Cher Wang said that this agreement will “ensure continued innovation within our HTC smartphone and Vive virtual reality business.”
Six years ago, Google made its first big purchase of Motorola Mobility, at an astounding $12.5 billion buyout. This is the second time Google is making another big purchase in the smartphone arena.
