Google today said it has agreed to purchase HTC’s Pixel smartphone business, as well as acquire some employees and license intellectual property, for $1.1 billion in cash.
HTC’s Pixel engineers will be added to Google’s existing hardware organization, where they will continue to work on the Pixel smartphone line.
“In many ways, this agreement is a testament to the decade-long history of teamwork between HTC and Google,” said Rick Osterloh, former Motorola executive and current senior vice president of Google’s hardware business.
“Together, we’ve achieved several mobile-industry firsts, including the first ever Android smartphone, the HTC Dream / T-Mobile G1; as well as the Nexus One in 2010, the Nexus 9 tablet in 2014, and the first Pixel smartphone just last year.” Osterloh said.
Google will continue to focus on its core capabilities, creating hardware that takes advantage of Google’s software. HTC will retain its actual smartphone business.
In a statement, HTC said the company “will continue to have best-in-class engineering talent, which is currently working on the next flagship phone, following the successful launch of the HTC U11 earlier this year.”
HTC will also retain its Vive-branded virtual reality business and invest in next-generation technologies, such as the internet of things, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence.
The companies did not say when they expect the deal to close.
