Snap, Snapchat’s parent company, has secretly bought Th3rd, a 3D scanning studio, for an undisclosed sum.

According to IANS, four team members from the Netherlands-based Th3rd have joined Snap as part of the transaction.

Th3rd’s website states that it generates digital 3D counterparts of persons or products.

“These high-resolution digital 3D models serve as the foundation for a wide range of applications, including photos, videos, visualizations, animations, 360-degree photos, holograms, VR, and AR,” according to the description.

Th3rd, which was founded in 2014, has been investing in AR-powered commerce in recent years and is developing a platform to harness the technology.

It released tools last April that convert merchant pictures into 3D files. Snap has purchased several augmented reality (AR) firms in recent years.

Snap paid $500 million in May 2021 for the acquisition of AR startup WaveOptics, which provided technology to power Snap’s Spectacles AR spectacles.

Snap bought Fit Analytics in March 2021, and Vertebrae, a 3D and AR commerce business, in July. Snap said last year that it had bought the augmented reality company Forma.

Snap announced a new business unit this week that will provide augmented reality (AI) solutions to merchants and enterprises for integration into their apps.

The new “Augmented Reality Solutions for Business” (ARES) division will allow businesses to use Snap’s AR capabilities in their applications and websites to attract users and create more immersive experiences.

Meanwhile, Snapchat has debuted its new AI chatbot. It uses the most recent version of OpenAI’s GPT technology.