Snap has agreed to acquire WaveOptics, the supplier of the augmented reality displays that power its new Spectacles glasses, for more than $500 millio

Snap is buying its AR display supplier for more than $500 million

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2021-05-29 03:30:05

Snap has agreed to acquire WaveOptics, the supplier of the augmented reality displays that power its new Spectacles glasses, for more than $500 million, The Verge has learned. The deal is Snap’s largest ever, underscoring the company’s long-term bet that AR eyewear will eventually go mainstream.

WaveOptics primarily makes waveguides, a display technology that allows for the overlaying of virtual objects onto the real world through a transparent surface like glass, and accompanying light projectors. Snap is using WaveOptics displays in the new Spectacles announced this week, which it isn’t selling widely but is giving to a small number of AR effect creators.

Based in the UK and founded in 2014, WaveOptics raised a total of $65 million in funding to date, according to the financial data firm PitchBook. The roughly 125-person team will now report to the director of Snap’s hardware division, Steen Strand. Snap is paying for half of the deal in stock now, and in two years it can decide to pay for the other half in either cash or stock. A Snap spokesperson confirmed the acquisition.

For Snap, the purchase scoops up the maker of a key component for AR glasses in a nascent but quickly growing industry. Snap’s spokesperson said that WaveOptics will continue to supply other companies with its waveguides and work with Snap on custom optical systems.