According to an unnamed source, HTC Chairwoman and CEO is planning to step up the company’s commitment to the virtual reality market by spinning off the HTC Vive and any related virtual reality work that the company has under way into its own subsidiary. The entity would focus exclusively on virtual reality products and work be owned by Cher Wang and HTC. The news was well received by investors, pushing HTC’s stock up by 5.2% on an otherwise flat day for the markets in Taiwan.
The report claims that HTC “is consulting with its employees on their willingness to work for the independent firm.” Creating a new company will not make much of a difference for the first generation HTC Vive since the commercial launch is only a few months out. Instead, it would allow the Vive team to start working on the second generation VR headset without worrying about the financial stability of HTC’s smartphone business. This also allows HTC to recuperate the company’s VR investment costs in the future if the spin-off company ever goes public.
We’ll be sure to share any new details on the situation as soon as they come to light.
Source: Focus Taiwan
