ByteDance Ltd. has entered into discussions regarding the acquisition of Chinese virtual reality headsets maker Pico, a source familiar with the matter confirmed. This move forms part of ByteDance’s drive for further growth.
With talks still ongoing, no final decision has been made as to whether or not ByteDance will go through with the purchase. Neither ByteDance nor Pico have agreed to respond to queries on the matter.
Should the acquisition move forward, this would mark ByteDance’s first foray into the virtual reality space. It would also provide the Beijing-based company with an entirely new revenue stream, having previously gotten its big break with the video-sharing-focused social media platform TikTok.
In addition to TikTok, other major players that have proven to be strong financial investments for ByteDance include local Chinese TikTok competitor Douyin and news aggregator Toutia.
Founded in 2015, Pico employs over 300 people and has offices in China, Japan, Spain, South Korea, and the United States. The company sells its VR headsets in global markets across Africa, Asia, Europe, Canada, and the United States.
While the VR headset field is already crowded, demand for such products is on the rise given the wide array of games and fitness apps that these headsets can be used for.
