Founded in Taiwan in 1997 by Cher Wang, H.T. Cho, and Peter Chou, HTC initially began as an original design manufacturer (ODM) building notebook computers and early mobile hardware. The company pioneered the manufacture of some of the earliest Microsoft-powered smartphones and Android devices, eventually launching iconic flagship phones like the HTC Dream and HTC One series. After experiencing sharp market share losses against Apple and Samsung, the company pivoted heavily toward virtual reality development with its HTC Vive ecosystem.