I think it’s a bit unfortunate wording which makes it sound like the Vive was developed by HTC and Valve just adopted it. Valve did a lot of VR research, produced several headset prototypes, and invented key technologies like the Lighthouse tracking in the years before they announced their partnership with HTC. I’m sure HTC contributed regarding turning a prototype into a consumer product and mass producing it, but I think Valve could just as well have taken their VR tech to Samsung, Lenovo, or someone else and have them produce the Vive if they had been interested.
I think it’s a bit unfortunate wording which makes it sound like the Vive was developed by HTC and Valve just adopted it. Valve did a lot of VR research, produced several headset prototypes, and invented key technologies like the Lighthouse tracking in the years before they announced their partnership with HTC. I’m sure HTC contributed regarding turning a prototype into a consumer product and mass producing it, but I think Valve could just as well have taken their VR tech to Samsung, Lenovo, or someone else and have them produce the Vive if they had been interested.