Google Is Buying HTC’s Smartphone Expertise for $1.1 Billion

Google is spending $1.1 billion to hire a team of engineers from the smartphone business of the struggling Taiwanese manufacturer HTC in a bid to bring more hardware expertise to its own mobile technology operations.

HTC said many of its estimated 2,000 employees affected by the deal were already working with the search giant on smartphones. Google leaned on HTC to manufacture its first Pixel smartphone, which was released last year, and is working with the company to produce the next version of the phone, which is expected to be announced on Oct. 4. Bringing on the team from HTC is a sign that Google is doubling down on plans to produce its own hardware. Company executives have said it is important to tightly couple its artificial intelligence software, like the voice-controlled Google Assistant, with a range of devices. The two sides did not disclose how many engineers and other key employees would head to Google as part of the deal. But Peter Shen, HTC’s chief financial officer, said the remaining company would still have more than 2,000 research and design staffers, down from about 4,000. As part of the agreement, Google will also secure a nonexclusive licensing deal for some of HTC’s intellectual property.