Snap Inc. are developing a new line of smart spectacles and have moved their operations for the venture to an office in China. China has outlawed the use of their SnapChat app for all residents due to their heavy censorship laws, making it completely inaccessible across the country.
Manufacture of their video-recording sunglasses already takes place in China, but the new office will be for the purposes of research and development. Several job listings were spotted by the Chinese news website NetEase. Snap Inc. are looking for people with three or more years of experience and are particular interested in working with people who have previously worked with big Chinese tech companies, such as Alibaba and Tencent.
Despite the hostility towards their app, Snap Inc. appear to be garnering the interest of many local tech companies have expressed an interest in the company. It was reported that global trade company Alibaba had invested $200 million into the company in 2015. Tencent was also reported to have taken part in additional fundraising of $60 million back in 2013.
Big things could be on the horizon for Snap. They’ve already launched their first hardware in the form of Spectacles, and with expansion into China and additional research being conducted we could start to see a lot more interesting bits of tech come out of the company.
