SHENZHEN, China, Nov 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- HTC Corporation ("HTC"), a pioneer in innovative, smart mobile and virtual reality (VR) technologies, today signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement with the Shenzhen Municipal Government. Under the agreement, the Shenzhen Municipal Government will support HTC in setting up the China VR Research Institute and the two parties will work together to establish the 10 billion RMB Shenzhen VR Investment Fund. Mr. Xingrui Ma, Deputy Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee, Mr. Qin Xu, Deputy Secretary of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee and Mayor of Shenzhen, other leaders from the Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee and the Shenzhen Municipal Government Office, Ms. Cher Wang, Chairwoman of HTC, Mr. David Chen, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technology Officer of HTC, Alvin W. Graylin, China Regional President of HTC Vive, and Edward Chang, Head of HTC Research Lab, attended the signing ceremony.
Ms. Cher Wang said, "It is a great honor for us to enter into the Strategic Partnership Agreement with the Shenzhen Municipal Government. As a pioneer and market leader in the VR industry, HTC possesses groundbreaking innovative technology and expertise. We hope that we can take this opportunity to merge HTC's advanced technologies and first-class, global talents together with Shenzhen's local industry and academic institutes as organized and coordinated by the Shenzhen Municipal Government. Together, with this research institute's multiple R&D centers and bolstered by the support of industry alliances and the investment fund, we will accelerate the development of the VR industry in Shenzhen and elevate the city's R&D capabilities to an international level. We are dedicated to exploring the world of VR, and hope to usher in a new era together with Shenzhen."
With this strategic cooperation, HTC and the Shenzhen Municipal Government have constructed a profound partnership with deep roots. Shenzhen is the first city in China to be identified as a Special Economic Zone and has a history of independent innovation. It boasts a strong foundation for the electronic information industry, offering the complete industry chain, accessible services, and supporting facilities. This makes the city extremely globally competitive in terms of R&D, commercialization and international expansion. Within the VR industry alone, Shenzhen boasts many homegrown companies along various parts of the industry chain, from device manufacturing to content generation and distribution to application. In addition to a strong capacity for innovation, these companies seek to cooperate with fellow enterprises. From June to October this year, HTC assisted the Shenzhen Municipal Science and Technology Innovation Committee in creating the Action Plan for Promoting Technological Innovation and Industry Application in Shenzhen's VR Industry (2016-2020). This cooperation was instrumental in laying a foundation of collaboration for the future development of VR.
With the Strategic Partnership Agreement, Shenzhen Municipal Government will support HTC to form the China VR Research Institute and promote VR development together with the establishment of the Shenzhen VR Industry Fund.Under the Strategic Partnership Agreement, the Shenzhen Municipal Government will support HTC to form the China VR Research Institute and promote VR development together with the establishment of the Shenzhen VR Investment Fund. The partnership will leverage HTC's advantages in VR technology and talent while focusing on unleashing breakthroughs in the core technologies of sensors, display, graphics, data visualization, human-machine interaction and other related areas. It will also create an innovation system in which enterprises, universities, research institutes, and investment organizations all participate and drive the evolution of the ecosystem together. VR technology applications across various industries, such as healthcare, military, engineering, design, and manufacturing, will be highlighted.
The Shenzhen VR Investment Fund was established by the Shenzhen Industry Guiding Fund (or Venture Capital Fund) and HTC. It aims to attract enterprises involved in the VR industry and investment from within China and beyond. The fund, with an initial scale of 10 billion RMB, will become the world's largest single VR-focused fund, assisting the development of the VR sector as well as accelerating the growth of China's VR ecosystem.
HTC has been consistently active in promoting the robust development of the VR industry. Its Vive X Accelerator program was announced globally in April this year, gathering talented developer teams across the globe. The first round kicked off in August in Taipei, San Francisco, Beijing and Shenzhen, while applications for the second cycle will conclude on December 1st, 2016. All interested startup teams that focus on VR are invited to apply through www.vivex.co.
Building on the success of Vive X Accelerator, VRVCA (Virtual Reality Venture Capital Alliance, www.vrvca.com) was founded on August 31st of this year and currently counts the world's leading 42 investors as members. VRVCA holds more than 14 billion USD in investible capital. With broad industry support from IVRA (Industry of Virtual Reality Alliance, www.ivra.com), VRVCA aims to accelerate entrepreneurship and innovation in the global VR industry. HTC invites all Chinese companies dedicated to the flourishing of the VR industry to join the unprecedented wave of innovation, and shape a healthy and versatile ecosystem together.
HTC has been consistently active in promoting the robust development of the VR industry, with its global team announcing in April the landmark Vive X accelerator program. The accelerator kicked off in August of this year in Taipei, San Francisco, Beijing and Shenzhen; applications for the second round will open on December 1st. All interested teams are invited to apply on www.vivex.com.
About the Vive Virtual Reality System
Vive is a first-of-its-kind virtual reality system developed in partnership by HTC and Valve. Designed from the ground up for room-scale VR, Vive allows true-to-life interactions and experiences thanks to an adjustable headset displaying stunning graphics, two wireless controllers with HD haptic feedback and 360？？ absolute motion tracking. For a convenient and safe experience, Vive incorporates essential functionality from your phone and features a front facing camera that blends physical elements into the virtual world. Working in concert, this system immerses you visually, physically and emotionally in the virtual world. For more information on Vive, please visit www.vive.com.
About HTC
HTC Corporation aims to bring brilliance to life. As a global innovator in smart mobile and virtual reality devices and technology, HTC has produced award-winning products and industry firsts since its inception in 1997, including the critically acclaimed HTC One and HTC Desire lines of smartphones, and is now leading the VR industry with the Vive line of products. The pursuit of brilliance is at the heart of everything we do, inspiring best-in-class design and game-changing mobile and virtual reality experiences for consumers around the world. HTC is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE: 2498). www.htc.com.
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