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LG Display may score an investment deal from Google for VR parts, according to a new report out of South Korea. According to the details in the report, talks are currently underway between the two companies and may be related to a chip that would be meant for “micro-displays” for the virtual reality platform. At the moment there is no information regarding specifics on products exactly, but as LG Display produces panels for any number of devices both big and small, from TVs to smartphones, a display for future VR technology would like be the product coming from LG. Google’s investment would likely have to do with funding LG Display’s further advancement of new displays made for VR headsets. Such an investment could also prove useful to Google as it furthers its own advancement in VR hardware.
As of right now no deal has been reached, and there is still no confirmation that a deal is even being negotiated, but the report states that if a deal is struck it could result in LG Display receiving funding that is in the amount of “hundreds of billions of Won.” The report does not mention if Google alone would be providing all of the funding, but if that is the case, then hundreds of billions of Won would be equivalent to hundreds of millions in terms of USD. This would fit in nicely with a report from earlier this year which stated Google was interested in investing in LG Display’s Flexible OLED tech to the tune of One Trillion Won, which is around $900 Million USD. Also worth mentioning though is that the rumor from this report was never confirmed.
If negotiations for this new deal are currently happening, it’s also reported that terms of the agreement would include LG Display starting mass production for the hardware it’s using the investment funds to create, which the report details as Plastic Organic Light Emitting Diodes, or PLOED displays. What’s more is that LG Display is said to have production lines ready to go at its Gumi plant in the North Gyeongsang Province, and could begin production as soon as the negotiations with Google are over and the deal finalized. For now there is no validation that can be provided on a possible investment deal between Google and LG Display, but this also wouldn’t be the first time that a rumor sprung up suggesting that such a deal could happen.