ByteDance Raises VR Equipment Sales Target
Beijing-based technology firm and TikTok owner ByteDance has raised its 2022 sales target for virtual reality (VR) products from 1 million units to about 1.8 million units, according to local media outlet AR Circle. The revision comes following better-than-expected marketing effects of Pico Technology Co., Ltd., China’s leading VR headset maker which was acquired by ByteDance last year.
According to a report by domestic media outlet LatePost on March 3, several sources revealed that as of 2021, about 500,000 Pico products had been sold, and that the team’s sales target in 2022 was about 1 million units. In addition, Song Binghua, head of Douyin Variety, and Wu Zuomin, director of Douyin Entertainment, will soon transfer to Pico, indicating that ByteDance will start to increase investment in VR content.
In August 2021, ByteDance acquired Pico from Goertek, obtaining both the brand and R&D capabilities of the VR firm. In addition, ByteDance signed a strategic agreement with Goertek under which the latter will undertake manufacturing responsibilities for Pico products. The acquired Pico brand will be merged into ByteDance’s VR business line, integrating the company’s content resources and technical capabilities. More investment will be added to Pico’s product R&D ecology.
At present, Pico mainly offers two product lines – the G series and Neo series – among which G series products focus more on watching movies and scenarios with light interaction, while Neo series products support 6DoF interaction of head and hands, which is widely used for games and commercial applications.
IDC reported that Pico’s domestic market share exceeded 50% in 2021, ranking first, followed by DPVR, iQiyi VR and HTC VIVE.
