The state awarded more than $149 million in grants and tax credits to 12 companies in November, with a large portion going to businesses in Los Angeles. Santa Monica-based Snap Inc. received a $20 million grant, which will go toward the social media company’s office expansions and manufacturing of augmented reality devices.
The programs, called the California Competes Grant and the California Competes Tax Credit, are available to businesses that want “to locate or stay and grow in California,” and are intended to bring in jobs and private investment. In addition to Snap, Long Beach-based aerospace company AIBOT US Inc. received a $15 million grant.
This round of grants and tax credits is projected to bring about $1.3 billion of private investment to the state and create 6,000 jobs. To date, more than 12,000 businesses have received grants or tax credits and almost 165,000 jobs have been created since the program began in 2013.
Snap has offices in Santa Monica and Palo Alto. The company closed its San Francisco office in October of last year, saying that the location was being “lightly used” by staff, though the San Francisco Chronicle reported in November that Snap has signed a lease on a new building there. Snap declined to comment on whether it is returning to San Francisco.
With the $20 million grant Snap must create 508 new jobs by the 2027 tax year. It must also make either an infrastructure investment of at least $10 million towards “facility construction and/or renovation,” or have its project take place in an area of high unemployment or poverty.
The agreement specifically states that funds will go towards advancing manufacturing capabilities for Snap’s AR devices. Snap unveiled a device called Spectacles in 2016, which is a wearable camera installed in a pair of sunglasses that can connect to the company’s Snapchat application and record video. The newest generation of Spectacles includes AR and is only available to developers.
Snap’s level of investment in AR has varied over time. The company launched an AR Enterprises division in March. AR Enterprises was shut down in September, with Snap Chief Executive Evan Spiegel saying that growing the offering would take a significant investment that the company “simply cannot make.” Snap then partnered with education technology company Inspirit Learning Inc. in October to bring Snap’s AR technology into classrooms and with the Musée du Louvre in Paris, France, to create an AR-enhanced experience of one of the museum’s collections.
Snap’s grant disbursement will begin in the 2025 tax year.
