Skip to main content

TikTok owner ByteDance announces investments into VR with Pico acquisition

As AR and VR become more popular, tech companies have been investing more and more in these technologies. Now, ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok, has announced the acquisition of a VR-focused startup called Pico.

As reported by CNBC, the acquisition was confirmed by the Chinese company on Monday. However, the amount of money negotiated between ByteDance and Pico was not disclosed. The integration of Pico into the TikTok owner will be mainly focused on “our entry to the VR space and long-term investment in this emerging field.”

Beijing-headquartered ByteDance did not disclose the size of the deal but said in a statement that Pico’s “comprehensive suite of software and hardware technologies, as well as the talent and deep expertise of the team, will support both our entry to the VR space and long-term investment in this emerging field.”

For those unfamiliar, Pico was ranked the third-largest virtual reality headset company in Q1 2021. The company’s devices registered 44.7% year-over-year growth, and certainly, ByteDance will take advantage of this to improve its own products. For instance, Facebook acquired Oculus in 2014 to integrate its social networks into the platform, and ByteDance’s acquisition of Pico might be an answer to that.

In the meantime, Apple has also reportedly been working on headsets with AR/VR capabilities, but those are rumored to be announced sometime in 2022 or even later.

Read also:

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Comments

Author

Avatar for Filipe Espósito Filipe Espósito

Filipe Espósito is a Brazilian tech Journalist who started covering Apple news on iHelp BR with some exclusive scoops — including the reveal of the new Apple Watch Series 5 models in titanium and ceramic. He joined 9to5Mac to share even more tech news around the world.

Manage push notifications

notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications
notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications