Updated
Updated · Reuters · Jun 16
Snap Defends $2,195 Specs Launch as Activist Presses Over $3.5 Billion AR Spend
Updated
Updated · Reuters · Jun 16

Snap Defends $2,195 Specs Launch as Activist Presses Over $3.5 Billion AR Spend

3 articles · Updated · Reuters · Jun 16

Summary

  • Evan Spiegel said Snap’s new $2,195 Specs glasses are a long-term bet, rejecting activist calls to shut down or spin off the cash-burning AR unit.
  • Irenic Capital has urged Snap to consider alternatives for Specs, arguing the changes could lift the company’s value at least fivefold and that the unit should fund itself.
  • More than $3.5 billion has already gone into the business behind Specs, which Snap carved into a standalone subsidiary in January in a structure that could support outside funding.
  • Later this year, Spiegel said, Snap expects to share more about longer-term partnerships as it pushes AR glasses as a future interface for technology in the AI era.

Insights

After a $3.5B spend and mass layoffs, can Snap's pricey AR glasses survive against giants like Apple and Meta?
With AI replacing jobs at Snap, can its new AI glasses create enough value to justify their massive cost?