What does Google want with HTC's smartphone business?

Google is acquiring a $1bn chunk of HTC's smartphone arm, including 2,000 employees and access to intellectual property, as it bets big on hardware

Google has announced it's acquiring a $1.1bn chunk of HTC's smartphone business, and with it providing the once leading Taiwanese phone brand a much needed lifeline. But what does Google want with part of a smartphone business?

Google isn't buying the whole of HTC, just a relatively large part of the Taipei-based company's smartphone business and not its Vive virtual reality headset business. Google gains half of HTC's research and development team - about 2,000 people - and a non-exclusive license for HTC's intellectual property, allowing it to take advantage of some of HTC's advances in smartphone technology.