Razer acquires audiovisual icon THX as it explores growth beyond the games industry
Razer’s CEO Min-Liang Tan said in an interview that the terms of the deal are not being disclosed. But as part of the purchase, 33-year-old THX will be “spun out” and operated as a “startup,” recapitalized by Razer; run independently of it under existing management, led by Ty Ahmad-Taylor out of San Francisco; and focusing on developing new things.
Currently, THX employs 50 people, including a number of top audio and graphics engineers and scientists; the plan will be to ramp up those numbers both at the HQ and in other offices in countries like China to tap into the growing market there for films, tech and any other content that could be improved with better audiovisual quality.
Fast-forward to today and the company still focuses on HD quality, but now it works in a range of other environments that span both audio and video. THX Live for performances, for example, is being used as part of Beyoncé’s Formationworld tour.
Razer sees a parallel between the kind of work that THX does and Razer’s own position that it holds as a high-end brand in the gaming world.
One area, for example, is in developing the acoustics that make virtual reality environments ever more realistic: noises that sound like they are coming from around the very room you might be sitting in. “We’re looking forward to the opportunity to work with their designers and engineers,” Min said.
See the full story here: https://techcrunch.com/2016/10/17/razer-acquires-audiovisual-icon-thx-as-it-explores-growth-beyond-the-games-industry/