SNAP vs GDS Comparison

Snap is a technology company best known for its marquis social media application. Snapchat, a visual messaging application that has amassed hundreds of millions of users. The app was initially only used to communicate with family and friends through photographs and short videos (known as "Snaps"). Users can now enjoy augmented reality, or AR, lenses, content from famous creators and celebrities, updates about local events, and more. Although the app offers a paid subscription option with premium features, advertising sales produce most of the app's revenue. The firm also sells wearable devices called AR Spectacles, which can capture photos and videos overlayed with AR lenses, but these make up a small portion of Snap's overall sales.

GDS Holdings started as an IT service provider in 2001 then moved to the data center business with its first self-developed data center opening in 2010. The company now develops and operates data centers in China and also builds, operates and transfers data centers for other clients. It offers colocation and managed services and mainly targets hyperscale cloud service customers who take large areas of its data centers or even whole data centers under long-term contracts. Its data centers are located predominantly in and around the Tier 1 cities in China and it has also started an expanding into Southeast Asia via the now 38% owned DayOne. GDS listed on the Nasdaq in 2016 and completed a secondary listing in Hong Kong in 2020.