This week, Snapchat owner Snap Inc arrived in London to try and excite investors about its forthcoming IPO.
The Silicon Valley company indicated in a 17th February SEC filing that it plans to raise $2.3bn by selling 153m shares to the public.
The move comes as Snapchat looks to push further into the hardware space, selling more gadgets like its recently-released Spectacles, along with ad-friendly software features – a strategy set out in a recent Reuters report.
The company has apparently hired “hundreds of hardware engineers”, as well as building a secretive product lab as it moves into the world of hardware, building wearable tech gadgets.
As Reuters says: “These efforts, which are aimed at developing hardware and so-called augmented reality technologies, are central to the strategy of a company that is seeking a valuation of up to $22 billion in its early March IPO despite heavy losses and the specter of stiff competition for advertising dollars with a far-larger Facebook. It is a big gamble and the odds against Snap are long.”
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