LG, Meta Announce Collaboration to Develop Next-Generation XR Technologies

LG and Meta on Wednesday announced a strategic collaboration focused on extended reality (XR) devices and technologies. Meta has previously launched Meta Quest virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality headsets that are capable of offering VR and augmented reality (AR) experiences. Meanwhile, LG created an XR business unit within the Home Entertainment division to focus on building mixed-reality capable devices at the end of 2023. The news comes shortly after the CEOs of both companies were reportedly scheduled to meet in order to discuss the development of a new mixed reality headset that could be unveiled by the Facebook parent firm in 2025.

The South Korean firm announced the partnership in a prepared statement on Wednesday. “LG envisions that by bringing together Meta's platform with its own content/service capabilities from its TV business, a distinctive ecosystem can be forged in the XR domain, which is one of the company's new business areas. Moreover, the fusion of Meta's diverse core technological elements with LG's cutting-edge product and quality capabilities promises significant synergies in next-gen XR device development.”

The announcement also states that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg met with LG Electronics CEO William Cho and Park Hyoung-sei, President, Home Entertainment at LG Electronics at LG Twin Towers in Yeouido, Seoul. The two parties discussed business strategies and considerations for the next-generation XR device development. The LG leadership also tried out the Meta Quest 3 headset and Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses and expressed interest in the company's large language model (LLM) stack as well as its on-device AI integration.

It appears that LG will extend its hardware and product development efficiency, whereas Meta helps with the core technology inclusion. A report has suggested that the two tech giants have been working together on the Meta Quest Pro 2 for quite some time and the headset could be launched in 2025. At the moment, the details around the partnership are not known and whether both companies offer their expertise and help each other in building separate products or if they will also create co-branded devices is yet to be seen.

According to a report by Reuters, Zuckerberg is currently on a tour of Asia and arrived in South Korea on Tuesday. During his stay, he is expected to meet President Yoon Suk Yeol and other leaders in the technology space. This is reportedly his first known visit to the country in ten years. He is also expected to visit Japan and India as a part of this trip.