Acquired
Episode 45: HTC, Google and the Future of Mobile
Every company has a story.
Learn the playbooks that built the world’s greatest companies — and how you can apply them.
Show Notes
Acquired is back and live on the scene! After months of speculation, Google announces today their acquisition (err, "Cooperation Agreement”) of a large portion of HTC’s hardware division. What does this mean for the future of mobile? Can Google transform itself into a vertically integrated device company and compete directly with Apple? Most importantly, when will we see more Beats Android handsets??? (We hope never)
Sponsors:
WorkOS: https://bit.ly/workos25
Intapp: https://bit.ly/intappceleste
Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentry
Anthropic: https://bit.ly/acquiredclaude25
More Acquired!
Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics Covered Include: The origins of HTC as a Taiwanese OEM, dating back to the Compaq iPAQ and Palm Treo 650!
HTC’s long history with Google, starting as the manufacturer of the first Android phone, the HTC Dream / T-Mobile G1
HTC’s ownership of Beats, for a hot minute
Google’s own winding history in hardware, with its Motorola acquisition in 2011 and divestiture in 2014
Google & HTC’s joint work on the Pixel smartphones in 2016
And much analysis and speculation on what this means for Google, Apple, Samsung, vertical vs horizontal business models and more!
The Carve Out:
Ben: Odesza’s new album A Moment Apart
David: Bruce Springsteen on Fresh Air
Transcript not yet processed.
Sign in to unlock (1 credit)
Free to start
Full transcripts, AI insights,
Full transcripts, AI insights,
episode chat — free.
Sign up with Google in one click. 10 unlock credits included. No card needed.
Google sign-in · No credit card · Cancel anytime