Snapchat empowering 200 mn users in India with AR experiences: CEO Evan Spiegel

Mumbai, Nov 6 With over 200 million Snapchatters in India, we're seeing more and more creators, developers and brands tap into our community’s passion for augmented reality (AR) experiences, Snap Co-founder and CEO Evan Spiegel said here on Monday.

In a fireside chat with Snap APAC President Ajit Mohan during the company’s ‘APAC AR Day’ event here, Spiegel said that to see the explosion of creativity that's been empowered by Snapchat in India -- at a time when the country is changing so rapidly -- is really exciting to him.

“I love the energy of the young and vibrant Indian developer community. We're excited to be building the future with such incredible local talent.” Spiegel said.

In India, 95 per cent of Gen Z individuals express a keen interest in using AR for shopping, with 73 per cent believing that AR experiences provide a more personal touch.

Snapchat is geared up to bring the festive spirit alive for its 200 million Indian users with the launch of special Diwali-themed AR Lenses.

The Snap CEO said that young people are creating India's future and AR is going to be a key part of that goal.

“Giving people AR experiences to express themselves or to help people learn about the world, I think is a huge opportunity and whether that's partnering with brands to get more distribution or just building things for fun,” he added.

Highlighting the hyper-growth of the AR creator community in India, Mohan said that Snapchatters around the world are able to engage with immersive AR experiences which bring everyday moments to life.

“Snapchat is deeply committed to empowering these creators, offering monetization avenues and providing innovative tools to support their creative aspirations. We are honoured to have had creators from all over India and across APAC attend Snap’s AR Day to celebrate this ongoing innovation,” he noted.

The event saw AR developers, creators, advertisers, brands, and content creators attend sessions led by expert speakers.

With over 250 million people engaging with AR on Snapchat daily on average, Indian AR developers are building strong businesses on the platform.

The Snap AR creator community in India grew by 60 per cent in 2022 and will continue to grow with talented AR creators from all walks of life in 2024 as well.

In August this year, Snap launched the Lens Creator Rewards programme, a new way for AR creators, Lens developers, and teams to get rewarded for building top-performing Lenses on Snapchat.