Why Snap CEO Evan Spiegel Is Betting on Smart Glasses | The Circuit

Key Concepts

• Augmented Reality (AR): Technology that overlays digital information onto the real world.
• Consumer Hardware: Physical electronic devices designed for end-users.
• Snapchat: A popular messaging app known for disappearing photos and videos, stories, filters, and lenses.
• Snap Inc.: The company behind Snapchat, co-founded by Evan Spiegel.
• Spectacles (Specs): Snap's line of smart glasses, designed to integrate AR into daily life.
• Dual SOC Design: A system with two System-on-Chip processors working together.
• Computer Vision: The field of AI that enables computers to "see" and interpret images.
• AI (Artificial Intelligence): The simulation of human intelligence processes by machines.
• Vertical Video: Video content filmed and displayed in a vertical aspect ratio.
• Mobile-First: A design and development approach prioritizing mobile devices.
• IPO (Initial Public Offering): The process by which a private company becomes public by selling shares to the public.
• Take It Down Act: Legislation aimed at protecting individuals from the non-consensual distribution of intimate images.

Evan Spiegel and Snap Inc.: A Journey in Social Media and Augmented Reality

This summary details the evolution of Snap Inc. and its co-founder and CEO, Evan Spiegel, from their origins in Venice, California, to their current position as a major player in the tech industry, particularly in the realm of augmented reality.

Early Life and Founding of Snapchat

Evan Spiegel grew up in Southern California, describing himself as a "nerd" who was more interested in reading and graphic design than being one of the "cool kids." His early interest in graphic design, combined with his aptitude for computers, led him to pursue product design in college. The pivotal moment for Snapchat's founding occurred when Spiegel, while attending a machining class, saw his venture capital funding ($485,000 from Lightspeed) hit his account. This prompted him to drop out of the class to focus on the burgeoning startup.

Snapchat debuted in 2011, a time when social media was evolving rapidly with the decline of MySpace and the rise of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The initial problem Snapchat addressed was the slow speed of sending photos, which could take up to a minute. They developed a method for rapid photo transmission. As users began to use the app for communication, it was renamed Snapchat, incorporating features like captions and drawing tools.

The Rise of Snapchat and Early Success

Snapchat experienced a meteoric rise, fundamentally changing users' relationship with photos by making them a primary mode of communication rather than just for saving memories. Spiegel noted an inflection point when the number of photos sent on Snapchat surpassed the total number of photos taken globally on smartphones, signifying a major shift in camera usage. This success propelled Spiegel to become one of the youngest billionaires in the world by age 25. He attributes his ability to manage this early fame and responsibility to a strong support network of family and friends in Los Angeles. His first significant purchase was a pre-owned Ferrari, which he humorously recalls his father being upset about due to parking concerns.

Venice Origins and the "Blue House"

Snapchat's first official office, after operating out of Spiegel's father's house, was a small, iconic location in Venice, California, known as the "Blue House." This office featured a prominent ghost logo, which was a nod to the app's original name, "Peekaboo." Tourists would often visit, take photos with the logo, and even knock on the door for assistance or to provide feedback. The ghost logo itself was drawn by Spiegel in his dorm room.

The company's rapid growth in Venice led to some backlash from the community, with protests against the "corporate campus" feel. This pressure contributed to Snap Inc. eventually moving to a larger campus in Santa Monica. Despite the move, Spiegel maintains a special place in his heart for the early days in Venice. The current occupants of the Blue House shared memories of the space where the decision was made to remain in Los Angeles, despite investor pressure to move to the Bay Area.

Innovation and Competitive Landscape

Snap Inc. went public in 2017, but Spiegel has remained committed to his vision. The company is credited with popularizing many features now standard in social media, including disappearing messages, stories, filters, lenses, vertical video, and location tags. Spiegel emphasizes Snap's "mobile-first" approach, being one of the first services to build exclusively for mobile, unlike competitors who migrated from desktop. He highlights innovations like the tap-to-photo/press-and-hold-for-video camera button and the natural adoption of vertical video, which were designed to be more human and easier to use, aligning with how people live.

Snap has faced intense competition, notably from Meta. Spiegel recounts Mark Zuckerberg's infamous $3 billion offer to buy Snapchat, which he declined. He reveals the offer was "a hell of a lot more" than $3 billion. The decision to say no was informed by observing Instagram's early sale and its subsequent growth within Meta, leading to a feeling that they had sold too soon. More importantly, Snap saw a greater opportunity to build a significant business independently. Spiegel's conviction stems from his upbringing with lawyer parents, leading to energetic debates, which he applies to Snap's design meetings, spending hours debating and refining their perspectives.

Challenges and the Future of AR

Snap, like other social media companies, relies heavily on advertising revenue, making it vulnerable to market fluctuations, as evidenced by a single tweet from Kylie Jenner impacting its market cap. Competition, particularly from TikTok, is fierce. Spiegel acknowledges TikTok's advantages, including its operation in China, which provides a large, profitable business to fund international growth. He describes competing with TikTok as akin to battling a "giant conglomerate" due to its vast resources.

Despite Snap's current stock performance being below its IPO price, Spiegel remains focused on his long-term vision. He draws inspiration from Jensen Huang of Nvidia, who faced years of challenging quarters while building the GPU business. Huang's advice was to "knuckle down" and invest consistently over the long term.

Spiegel's significant bet for the future is on consumer hardware, specifically smart glasses, a commitment he has held for over a decade. He views this as a transition from screen-based computing to interacting with computers in the real world through augmented reality, calling it one of the most profound shifts in computing. He acknowledges the challenges, including public skepticism and privacy concerns, referencing the negative reception of Google Glass.

Snap's smart glasses, "Spectacles" (Specs), have evolved significantly. Early versions focused on inspiring people to wear cameras, drawing inspiration from playful designs. Later iterations, like the one with dual cameras, enabled depth perception and 3D content, laying the foundation for their AR journey. The dual SOC design in current prototypes allows one processor for computer vision and environmental understanding, and another for the application layer and AR lenses.

Despite skepticism from some, including the interviewer, regarding widespread adoption of smart glasses, Spiegel believes the turning point will come when the primary use case shifts from photography to other functionalities like watching movies. He envisions AR glasses creating "points of connection in the real world" and enabling new ways to interact with computers, potentially making education more interactive and engaging.

AI and Social Media's Evolving Landscape

AI is seen as a transformative force for both AR and social media. Spiegel views AR as the interface for AI, focusing on the "front end" of AI interaction. He believes AR can bring AI into the real world, allowing it to understand environments and people, and provide helpful, in-the-moment recommendations.

Snapchat's introduction of its own chatbot in 2023, while met with mixed reviews, reflects the integration of AI into social platforms. Spiegel acknowledges the responsibility of navigating innovation while protecting the mental health and safety of users, particularly teens and young adults who are at the forefront of adopting new technologies. He addresses concerns about features like Snap streaks, Snap maps, and Snap credits potentially creating pressure or feelings of exclusion, noting that Snap has made efforts to reduce streak pressure, such as making it easier to restore lost streaks.

Safety, Regulation, and the Future of Connection

Snap Inc. faces scrutiny regarding online safety and enforcement, with Spiegel asserting that safety has often been treated with greater urgency than design or engineering, as user comfort and expression depend on it. He points to ongoing legal discovery and senate hearings as processes that will shed light on Snap's responses to crises.

Regarding the misuse of apps for sharing nude photos, Spiegel emphasizes that it is a crime and highlights the "Take It Down Act" as a powerful tool for protection and recourse. He expresses optimism that younger generations may be engaging in fewer risky behaviors than previous ones, attributing this to increased education and awareness of risks.

Spiegel's grand plan involves building a future that keeps users grounded in the real world, even if it means wearing computers on their faces. He hopes the social network of the future will be "right here in person," addressing the challenge of connecting with distant people at the expense of those nearby.

He expresses surprise at the "bigness of the scale of the winners" in the tech industry, noting how technology, once seen as an enabler of individual empowerment, now feels dominated by overwhelming large companies. While not necessarily viewing this bigness as inherently bad, he acknowledges it makes it difficult for new "Snaps" to emerge. He believes platform shifts will create new opportunities in an industry with a concentrated number of players. The possibility of snapping directly from our brains is considered unlikely in his lifetime but not impossible for future generations.