The Sony hacks are certainly pumping out a lot more information that doesn't concern movies.
Last year Snapchat made headlines for turning down a $3 billion buyout offer that reportedly came from Facebook. Then, a few days later, reports came out that Google tried to outbid Zuck and Co. with a larger offer (allegedly $4-6 billion), but that, too, was rejected. Being given the cold shoulder is nothing to gloat about, so these offers were never confirmed by either of the companies that were allegedly involved. Well, newly unearthed Sony emails posted by Gawker seem to suggest that Snapchat did reject more than the $3 billion that was initially reported. In emails between Snapchat investor and Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton and Tipping Point author Malcolm Gladwell (odd?) spell it out:
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A separate batch of emails also reveal that Snapchat discreetly bought Vergence Labs, an eyeglass video camera maker, for $15 million ($11M in cash, $4M in stock). The company's main product is Ephiphany Eyewear: a pair of glasses with a built-in camera that comes in $299, $399 and $499 models. While it's not exactly as hi-tech as Google Glass, the device lets users shoot video by pressing a button on the frames, and then upload the footage later when they're at a computer. What would Snapchat want with them? Well, they might be trying to transition from being an app to something more.
If you're not going to pull the trigger on a multi-billion offer from Facebook or Google, it means that you have another business plan on deck that'll net more money on the horizon—can't reject that type of money and keep investors happy if you don't have a backup plan. Getting into the hardware business and offering an alternative to Google Glass (which runs for $1,500 for its beta model) could be part of the plan. Facebook itself is making moves in the hardware front: they bought VR company Oculus earlier this year for $2 billion. The social media wars are slowly moving from your screen to your face.
