Snap Inc. on Wednesday announced the creation of Specs Inc., a standalone subsidiary dedicated to its forthcoming augmented reality glasses, slated for release later this year.
A New Focus for AR Glasses
The move aims to accelerate development and investment in Snap’s augmented reality hardware.
- The new subsidiary will operate with greater independence, mirroring Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo.
- Specs Inc. may seek funding from outside investors, though the launch will proceed regardless.
- Users won’t need a Snapchat account to use the new glasses.
- The company is currently hiring nearly 100 people for roles within the subsidiary.
This strategic restructuring is designed to give Snap’s smart eyewear team the autonomy needed to innovate, similar to how Alphabet manages its self-driving car unit, Waymo LLC, according to a company spokesperson. Snap will launch the augmented reality glasses regardless of whether it secures external investment, the spokesperson confirmed.
“This structure provides greater operational focus and alignment, enables new partnerships and capital flexibility, allows us to grow a distinct brand, and supports clearer valuation of the business as we work towards the public launch of Specs later this year,” the Santa Monica-based Snap said in a statement.
A key reason for establishing Specs Inc. is to clearly differentiate the upcoming glasses from Snap’s core Snapchat product. Notably, users of Specs will not be required to have a Snapchat account, the spokesperson added. The subsidiary is actively recruiting for approximately 100 positions globally.
Snap Chief Executive Officer Evan Spiegel has long envisioned smart glasses as a natural evolution of display technology, aiming to create lenses that seamlessly integrate digital elements into the real world. Spiegel believes augmented reality displays can free users from the constant demands of phones and computer screens. Specs will incorporate an intelligence system capable of recognizing objects in the user’s environment in real time.
The new glasses represent a refined version of Spectacles, a previous iteration made available to software developers in 2024. Those developer glasses, priced at $99 per month, utilized Snap OS and hand-gesture controls—features that will also be present in the consumer version. Developers are already creating applications and games for the Specs platform, the company stated.
Snap’s push into consumer-focused AR hardware gains urgency as Meta Platforms Inc. experiences success with its AI-powered Ray-Ban glasses and plans a full AR glasses launch in 2027. While Snap has been developing smart glasses for years, earlier models prioritized image and video capture over augmented reality.
The creation of Specs Inc. also comes amid increased scrutiny of Snapchat’s handling of children’s safety. Last week, Snap reached a settlement in a high-profile lawsuit alleging that social media platforms, including Snapchat, are addictive and harmful to young people’s mental health. (Spiegel had been scheduled to testify before the settlement.)
Snapchat has also been banned for users under 16 in Australia, with other countries considering similar restrictions. Snap has cautioned investors that user engagement may decline as it removes underage users from its platform.
