Snap acquires drone company, may put eyes in the skies

All the pieces of Snap's grand plan are coming together, the latest of which appears to be putting its camera technology atop drones.

At least that's the obvious conclusion based on Snap's acquisition of Ctrl Me Robotics for "under $1 million," a deal that was first reported by Buzzfeed on Friday. Snap has not commented on the deal or the acquisition price.

Although the report calls the Venice Beach-based company a drone manufacturer, a subsequent report from Variety indicates that Ctrl Me Robotics' true expertise is customizing existing drones to be able to carry cameras rather than specializing in producing drones. Additionally, the Variety report claims that the deal actually occurred late last year.

Headquartered in the same "Silicon Beach" neighborhood of Venice as Snap, the drone-focused startup may help Snap further its mission of moving from a mere app company to what it likes to call itself now: a camera company.

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In that respect, it's beginning to look like Snap make be encroaching on GoPro's territory, but with far greater reach into the mainstream consumer space as opposed to GoPro's relatively "enthusiast" action camera user profile.

Although it's unclear what Snap's plans are for the company's expertise, a least one hint may rest in an Instagram post from Ctrl Me Robotics from almost two years ago. In it, the company shows off a drone fitted with a smartphone to "Snapchat from your drone."