What Fashion, Beauty Brands Need to Know About Snap AR Enterprise Services Unit Closing – WWD

During a time when artificial intelligence is driving virtual and extended realities, Snap Inc. has decided to nix its Augmented Reality Enterprise Services unit after just six months. The company confirmed the move after an internal memo leaked to the press on Wednesday and then chose to publish the memo on its own blog. Snap has been a longtime proponent and developer of AR, but the move looks like more of an acknowledgement of a tough business reality, rather than lack of faith in the technology itself. The memo, penned by chief executive officer Evan Spiegel, discussed how the generative AI era has ushered in new tools that allow practically anyone, from big to small platforms, to develop and deploy virtual try-ons. This “made it harder for us to differentiate our offering,” wrote Spiegel, unless it deepened its investment. That looks unfeasible right now, amid declining revenue. Snap needs to stay focused on its advertising business, and if it’s going to channel funds somewhere, the emphasis needs to be less on mobile and more on web AR, which is a tougher technical challenge. That’s notable, considering Snapchat was a mobile-only app for more than a decade, from its launch in
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