In Just Two Years, the Number of AR Developers in India has Increased by 50%: CTO Snapchat

According to Bobby Murphy, global chief technology officer (CTO) of Snapchat, the augmented reality (AR) developer ecosystem in India has expanded by over 50% over the last two years. Murphy added that the nation produced the most lenses posted on Snapchat while speaking at the second annual India AR Day in Mumbai. For those who are unaware, lenses are augmented reality experiences that show up within the Snapchat camera.

India is the country with the most lenses published on Snapchat out of all others. Additionally, within the past two years, the developer community has expanded by more than half. "India is a remarkable nation where AR has permeated everyday life," Murphy added. The business claimed in a statement that over 3.75 lakh developers have created over 4 million AR lenses as part of its worldwide AR developer network.

Developers Pooling in from Metros as Well as Small Cities

According to Snapchat, the state capital and other Indian regions, including Goraya, Prayagraj, Cochin, and Ambala, are home to the company's AR developers. According to Pulkit Trivedi, managing director (MD) of Snapchat India, the nation is home to over 200 million Snapchat users. "A vibrant community of developers and innovators in India is influencing the direction of augmented reality.

We think a robust developer ecosystem is essential to AR's long-term success, and we're still steadfastly dedicated to building this active community," Trivedi continued. The social media giant further explained its focus on India by stating that it trained developers to create their first AR lenses by holding events like "Lens Studio meet-ups" in places like Surat, Coimbatore, Rajkot, Trichy, Trivandrum, and Gwalior. More than 6,000 AR developers reportedly attended the 120 "meetups" that Snapchat conducted in 2024.

Revealing the Spectacles AR glasses

Additionally, Snap showcased Spectacles, its fifth-generation see-through augmented reality spectacles, which were initially introduced in the US in September 2024. Snap OS, a brand-new operating system created just for the social media network to power its next AR products, powers these AR spectacles.

Without the need for controllers, the operating system's natural interface puts the main menu in the palm of the user's hand using their hands and voice. Currently, the company's AR authoring software, Lens Studio, only allows developers to access it through the Spectacles Developer Program.

Additionally, Snap and OpenAI have teamed up to give developers access to multimodal big language models, which will make it simple for them to create lenses that can detect items in their environment and provide additional information. According to Jayashankar, they make heavy use of GenAI to assist non-developers or inexperienced developers in becoming Lens makers by merely prompting them to publish. Along with workshops and events, the firm also hosts Lensathons, which are hackathons in which developers collaborate with Snap specialists to create lenses or improve the Spectacles and expand the platform's experiences.

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StartupTalkyNitin Konde