The ByteDance brand is noticed at one of the crucial corporate’s workplace structures in Shanghai, China July 4, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Music/Report photograph Achieve Licensing Rights
HONG KONG, Oct 24 (Reuters) – TikTok proprietor ByteDance mentioned on Tuesday it isn’t shutting its digital truth (VR) industry Pico and stays dedicated to the trade for the long run, after reviews that the Chinese language corporate plans to progressively wind down the emblem.
The remark got here after Chinese language analysis company EqualOcean revealed a record announcing that ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming advised Pico’s control workforce ByteDance would progressively surrender at the Pico industry.
“The record that we’re shutting down Pico isn’t true. Pico is beneath commonplace operation and the corporate will proceed to spend money on the prolonged truth (XR) industry over the long run,” ByteDance mentioned in a remark shared with Reuters.
XR is a broader time period which encapsulates each VR and different headset-related applied sciences.
The Pico headsets are regularly noticed as ByteDance’s resolution to the preferred Quest headsets advanced by way of Meta Platforms Inc (META.O). Pico has the largest marketplace percentage for VR headsets in China, accounting for over 58% of the marketplace, as Meta’s Quest units haven’t begun to go into the rustic formally.
On Tuesday, a separate tale revealed by way of Chinese language on-line information outlet The Paper mentioned that ByteDance used to be within the means of rethinking Pico’s technique and that almost part of the unit’s workers had left. It additionally mentioned a couple of senior executives have successfully been shifted out of the Pico industry line.
With out elaborating, ByteDance mentioned in a separate remark that the corporate “will handle the standard operation of the product and proceed to beef up the funding in product era”.
ByteDance has been selling Pico throughout world markets. The Wall Boulevard Magazine reported previous this 12 months that Pico has larger its headset shipments ultimate 12 months whilst Meta’s headset shipments declined. Bytedance additionally began paying tool builders to deliver extra apps to its ecosystem.
However indicators of bother began showing for Pico early this 12 months. In February, Reuters reported Pico had laid off greater than 200 workers to streamline the corporate.
ByteDance obtained Pico in August 2021 proper on the peak of the metaverse hype.
However the buzz across the metaverse has cooled off since. Consistent with analysis company IDC, augmented truth (AR) and VR headset shipments declined for the fourth quarter in a row as volumes fell 44.6% 12 months over 12 months throughout the second one quarter this 12 months.
Reporting by way of Josh Ye; Enhancing by way of Deborah Kyvrikosaios
Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Believe Ideas.
