Snap to Shutter Business-Focused AR Unit Just Launched This Year

Snap Inc. is closing a division focused on making augmented reality services for businesses, pulling the plug on its latest attempt to diversify the ad-dependent company.

The ARES unit, short for augmented reality for enterprise services, was just announced in March. The idea was to let retailers adapt Snap’s AR technology for their own websites. But the company ultimately realized that the cost and complexity of the endeavor was too great, according to a memo from Chief Executive Officer Evan Spiegel that was reviewed by Bloomberg and confirmed by a Snap spokesperson.

ARES was one of Snap’s biggest new undertakings since the social ...