Snap Company

About Snap Company

Snap Inc. is a technology company that operates the visual messaging application Snapchat. Founded in 2011 by Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown, the company was initially named Snapchat Inc. and rebranded to Snap Inc. in September 2016. The company is headquartered in Santa Monica, California.

Snap's core product, Snapchat, enables users to communicate through short videos and images, known as "snaps," that disappear after being viewed. The platform includes features like a camera, visual messaging, a Snap Map for location sharing, Stories, and Spotlight for user-generated content. A key component of Snap's strategy is its investment in augmented reality (AR), offering users a wide array of Lenses and filters to alter their appearance and surroundings. The company's AR tools are also available to developers through Lens Studio.

The business model is primarily driven by advertising revenue. Snap offers various ad formats, including Snap Ads (vertical video ads), Sponsored Lenses, and Sponsored Geofilters. The company's advertising platform provides campaign management and measurement solutions for its clients, which range from small businesses to large brands. In addition to advertising, Snap generates revenue from its subscription service, Snapchat+, which offers users exclusive and pre-release features. The company also develops hardware products, such as Spectacles, a brand of smart glasses that record video, and has previously developed the Pixy camera drone.

Originally launched as Picaboo, the app was relaunched as Snapchat in September 2011. The company went public in March 2017 under the NYSE ticker symbol SNAP. Throughout its history, Snap has made several acquisitions to enhance its technology, including the video chat software company AddLive, the location-sharing app Zenly, and the Israeli AR startup Cimagine Media.