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ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, has reportedly decided to abandon the development of its upcoming Pico VR headset. The reason behind the move is the disappointing sales of the current model, the Pico 4, people familiar with the matter told The Information.
In November this year, Zhou Hongwei, the CEO of Pico, told employees in a meeting that the VR industry is still in its early stages and that the company’s previous estimation of industry and market growth was “too optimistic.” He admitted that the actual growth did not progress as rapidly as they had expected.
Zhou announced that the company would be laying off employees from its sales, videos, and platform operation teams. The company did not say how many employees will be let go, but sources said that the company planned to cut “hundreds” of jobs.
Upon the restructuring, Pico’s hardware team was said to concentrate on creating new technology, while the software team was either to be downsized or merged into ByteDance’s broader product development team.
Bytedance, the parent company of Pico, refuted the rumours of shutting down the VR company. “The report that we are shutting down Pico is not true. Pico is under normal operation and the company will continue to invest in the extended reality (XR) business over the long term,” ByteDance told Reuters.
The TikTok-parent bought Pico for a rumoured amount of more than a $1 billion in 2021.
After its acquisition two years ago, Pico has been expanding rapidly both within and outside of China. Within China, it has become the leading producer of virtual reality products in terms of total shipments. Globally, it trails behind only Meta. However, according to two individuals familiar with the matter, ByteDance has recently scaled back its efforts to develop Pico as a brand due to the dimming outlook, and now we see the company cancelling its next-generation VR headset.
In November this year, Zhou Hongwei, the CEO of Pico, told employees in a meeting that the VR industry is still in its early stages and that the company’s previous estimation of industry and market growth was “too optimistic.” He admitted that the actual growth did not progress as rapidly as they had expected.
Zhou announced that the company would be laying off employees from its sales, videos, and platform operation teams. The company did not say how many employees will be let go, but sources said that the company planned to cut “hundreds” of jobs.
Upon the restructuring, Pico’s hardware team was said to concentrate on creating new technology, while the software team was either to be downsized or merged into ByteDance’s broader product development team.
Bytedance, the parent company of Pico, refuted the rumours of shutting down the VR company. “The report that we are shutting down Pico is not true. Pico is under normal operation and the company will continue to invest in the extended reality (XR) business over the long term,” ByteDance told Reuters.
The TikTok-parent bought Pico for a rumoured amount of more than a $1 billion in 2021.
After its acquisition two years ago, Pico has been expanding rapidly both within and outside of China. Within China, it has become the leading producer of virtual reality products in terms of total shipments. Globally, it trails behind only Meta. However, according to two individuals familiar with the matter, ByteDance has recently scaled back its efforts to develop Pico as a brand due to the dimming outlook, and now we see the company cancelling its next-generation VR headset.
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