Snapchat May Have Bought Google Glass-Like Startup
The Sony Pictures Entertainment hack is now revealing much more than Hollywood tiffs. Business Insider reports that leaked emails from Michael Lynton, Sony Pictures Entertainment co-CEO and Snapchat board member, apparently detail the company's $15 million acquisition of a startup called Vergence Labs that makes smart glasses similar to Google Glass.
According to Business Insider, Snapchat seems to have bought Vergence Labs for $11 million in cash and $4 million in stock.
Los Angeles-based Vergence Labs is the creator of Epiphany Eyewear, a line of Warby Parker-esque smart glasses that let you record video by pressing a button on the frame of the glasses. Those videos are then uploaded to the cloud, and while you cannot take photos with the glasses, you can use Epiphany's software to pick out still images within your videos. The glasses come in 8, 16, and 32GB storage sizes, but only one frame option, and cost between $300 and $500.
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As of now, neither Snapchat or Vergence Labs makes any note of the purchase on their websites. Vergence may have been going through financial issues, as another leaked email reportedly showed Snapchat loaned the company $2 million just weeks before the acquisition was finalized.
It's a surprising move for Snapchat, considering the company's focus on disappearing images. Earlier this year, however, Snapchat did acquire the tech startup AddLive for $30 million, reportedly because it was able to power Snapchat's then-new live video chat feature. While you can take short video clips in Snapchat that also disappear, this might be a sign that the company wants to dive further into video and into the growing world of wearables.
Valentina Palladino is a senior writer for Tom's Guide. Follow her at @valentinalucia. Follow Tom's Guide at @tomsguide and on Facebook.
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