TikTok parent company ByteDance has purchased the third-largest VR (virtual reality) headset maker, Pico in a bid to develop its own metaverse.

The news was originally confirmed by CNBC, several days after Chinese publication Nweon verified the information. In its statement, ByteDance told CNBC that Pico’s “comprehensive suite of software and hardware technologies, as well as the talent and deep expertise of the team, will support both our entry to the VR space and long-term investment in this emerging field,” saying it was “optimistic about the future of VR and its alignment with our mission.”

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Pico’s Neo series of standalone VR headsets, including the recently unveiled Pico Neo 3, are quite popular. According to a June IDC report, Pico is the third-largest maker of VR headsets, following Facebook’s Oculus and Chinese company DPVR. Pico Neo 3 is only available in Asia. Pico is slowly expanding its market with Neo 3 Pro and Neo 3 Pro Eye. The new VR headsets will arrive in North America and Europe as well.

According to CNBC, ByteDance has acquired a leading mobile games studio Moonton in March. Moreover, the company has experience in terms of releasing hardware as well. Aside from that, it has launched a mobile phone called Jianguo Pro 3 exclusively in China back in 2019. There is a thin chance that Pico and TikTok will merge in any form in the near future. However, we will have to wait and see.