Snapchat has had a lucky year and they are running toward an IPO at full speed. The company decided to grab a good holiday gift as their lucky year comes to an end. A report from The Calcalist states that Snap Inc. acquired Cimagine, an Israeli augmented reality firm for around $30 to $40 million. The team will become a part of R&D division of Snap Inc. and help Snapchat achieve new heights. Things definitely were pretty festive for Snap Inc, right?
Cimagine and Snap Inc, the Holiday combo
So what good will it do to the company? Well the answer is pretty obvious Cimagine will help Snap Inc make big money. If you are wondering what Cimagine is, let me tell you a little about it. This firm has spent the last few years in developing some pretty good augmented reality tech including software that allows retailers and various brands show case their products in the virtual space in front a smart phone camera. Google has done something similar with Tango but that also requires multiple cameras and sensors. Well Cimagine doesn’t use the extensive hardware and just imagine the prospects of a company that can do so much with just a software.
Okay let me explain what Snap Inc and Cimagine together can achieve. Imagine Snapchat enables a filter that gives you goofy pair of glasses, a trimmer face etc. and at the same time pops a virtual coke vending machine too! Among its many features that were introduced this year, Snap Inc. had also introduced ‘world lenses’ last month. These lenses allowed people with smart phones to use the phone’s main camera to see objects from the filters like stars, moons, clouds drooling out rainbows etc. in the space in front of them. Cimagine’s team could help Snap Inc. immensely in multiple AR projects. We may be able to see these rudimentary effects as bigger experiences in a more sophisticated AR environment.
Snap Inc, all the way
Cimagine has working relationship on the books with some companies and big brands like Taco Bell are also not afraid of the big price tags that come with sponsored filters. According to sources, the 24 hour filters run between 100 to 750 thousand dollars and that my friends, is a lot! Sponsored filters like have a coca cola vending machine will take a lot of work to achieve and Snap Inc will have to work a lot to achieve this level of success. With a new code base and some new employees with a lot of talent Snapchat may be heading towards another very lucky year.
