Snap Puts Its AR Glasses Business Into a New Subsidiary Snap is giving its augmented reality glasses ambitions a new corporate structure. The company behind Snapchat has established Specs Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary that will now operate its AR wearables business. This move allows Snap to more easily pursue outside investment and strategic partnerships for its Spectacles glasses. It also aims to grow Specs into its own distinct brand while keeping it under the broader Snap Inc umbrella. The decision follows earlier reports that Snap was exploring ways to secure external funding for its AR hardware development, a capital-intensive endeavor where it competes with deep-pocketed rivals like Meta. In its announcement, Snap positioned the timing of the launch as key, citing the transformative role of artificial intelligence. The company stated that the glasses operating system is designed to help users accomplish tasks more quickly by interpreting what the glasses see and understanding user behavior patterns. Snap also emphasized a core philosophy behind its smartglasses, contrasting them with phones and computers. The company argues that by overlaying digital tools onto the user view of the real world, the glasses can allow people to stay more present with friends and family instead of looking down at a screen. Additionally, Snap suggested that over time, digital tools on the Specs could replace physical objects like instruction manuals or whiteboards, potentially reducing material waste. While Snap did not disclose whether any investors are already committed to Specs Inc, the new entity is actively expanding. It is currently hiring for more than one hundred roles globally across various locations. The subsidiary is expected to be the vehicle for launching Snap next generation of standalone AR glasses later this year. Company CEO Evan Spiegel has previously described the upcoming model as a significant evolution, promising a lighter design, a much smaller form factor, and enhanced capabilities compared to earlier developer-focused versions of Spectacles. This shift represents a strategic effort to refine its approach to the competitive and costly AR hardware market.
