Google Buys HTC Smartphone Talent for $1.1 Billion
Google is going all in for their Pixel line of phones, with a new acquisition of a big part of HTC's smartphone division. Buying a team that moves over more than 2,000 engineers to Google cost the Mountain View company a cool $1.1 billion, too.
The deal has been closed no later than Tuesday, Jan. 30, as Google announced in a blog post. For the hefty sum, the company has now bought a good part of HTC's smartphone design and engineering team that could be put to work designing the next line of Google's phones.
"These new colleagues bring decades of experience achieving a series of 'firsts' particularly in the smartphone industry—including bringing to market the first 3G smartphone in 2005, the first touch-centric phone in 2007, and the first all-metal unibody phone in 2013," Google Senior Vice President for hardware Rick Osterloh highlighted in his announcement.
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It's a good deal for both sides, all things considered, as Ars Technica points out. For their part, HTC is getting a much-needed cash influx, and just at the time the company is running low, too. With $1.1 billion infused to HTC, they now have over three years' worth of liquid assets to burn at their current rate of spending, which is now drastically reduced with 2,000 fewer engineers to pay.
The upside for Google is even more evident in this case. The new hires now let the company do much of the design and development of new Pixel phones in-house, giving them more control for less cost.
The acquisition also comes at a great time for Google as it seeks to expand to more hardware lines. With the smartphone are covered the company is now much more flexible and can dedicate its other internal teams to things like smart home speakers and other R&D projects, as The Verge noted.
