AUGMENTED WORLD EXPO 2025 ANNOUNCES XR HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES, AUGGIE AWARDS FINALISTS, AND STARTUP PITCH COMPETITION FINALISTS

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May 21, 2025, 11:00 ET

Industry Leaders and Innovators Recognized for Groundbreaking XR Contributions at the World's Leading AR/VR Conference

LONG BEACH, Calif., May 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As Augmented World Expo (AWE) USA 2025 prepares to kick off in Long Beach, California, the global XR community is set to celebrate another milestone year of innovation, creativity, and impact in spatial computing. Now in its 16th year, AWE is proud to announce the newest inductees to the XR Hall of Fame and unveil the finalists for both the 2025 Auggie Awards and the Start-Up Pitch Competition—marking a record-breaking year for the industry's most prestigious honors.

Honoring 10 New XR Hall of Fame Inductees

The future of XR is built on a foundation laid by decades of visionary work. That foundation took physical form in 2024 with the launch of the AWE XR Hall of Fame—a living tribute to the trailblazers whose bold visions, technical breakthroughs, and creative leaps helped shape today's $40 billion XR industry.

The inaugural class recognized 101 pioneers whose contributions spanned five decades across augmented, virtual, and mixed reality. These individuals didn't just imagine the possibilities of XR—they brought them to life.

In 2025, the XR Hall of Fame adds 10 new inductees who have significantly shaped XR over the past 50 years. Their contributions span immersive art, hardware innovations, digital health, media, and education, transforming how XR is designed and understood globally. Their visionary work has left a lasting impact on the industry's past, present, and future.

The 2025 XR Hall of Fame inductees are:

Nicole Stenger – VR Artist and Visionary
Bob Jacobson – HIT Lab Associate Director & VR Forum Architect
Andrew Fuller – Founding Architect of HoloLens & Meta AR Leader
Gregory Panos – XR Visionary & Human Simulation Pioneer
Linda Jacobson – VR Evangelist & Health Inclusion Advocate
Mel Slater – Pioneer of Presence & Embodiment in VR
Sandra Kay Helsel – XR Media Trailblazer & "First Lady of VR"
Walter Greenleaf – Clinical VR Pioneer & Digital Health Innovator
Albert "Skip" Rizzo – VR Innovator in Psychological & Cognitive Healthcare
Scott Fisher – NASA Pioneer & USC Interactive Media Founder

These distinguished individuals will be honored throughout AWE USA 2025, including a special tribute during the Auggie Awards Ceremony to highlight their achievements and inspire the next generation of XR innovators.

Explore the full list and learn more about the XR Hall of Fame at: https://www.awexr.com/blog/meet-the-2025-inductees-to-the-xr-hall-of-fame.

2025 Auggie Awards Finalists Announced

This year, the Auggie Awards continue to spotlight excellence in XR. With a record number of submissions, the 2025 competition is the largest in the awards' history—a testament to the maturity of the tech and the explosion of XR builders creating apps and experiences for everyone on earth.

Since 2010, the Auggies have celebrated groundbreaking technology, compelling content, and real-world impact. Finalists were selected through a combination of public voting and expert review, and now advance to the final judging round led by AWE's esteemed advisory panel.

This year's awards cover 19 categories, highlighting the top global innovations in XR. Finalists are showcased in the Auggie Awards Gallery, with winners announced live on June 11 during the Auggie Awards ceremony, held on AWE's Main Stage. Each winner will receive the prestigious Auggie Award Trophy, custom-designed by artist Sigal Arad Inbar, and gain international recognition among XR leaders, investors, and media.

Congratulations to all 2025 finalists, and thank you to everyone who submitted and voted in this year's competition.

Finalists for each category are as follows:

Best Art or Film:
Gargoyle Doyle -- Ethan Shaftel // easyAction
In Tirol -- James C. Kane
Marco Polo VR - A new immersive journey between Italy and China -- WAY Experience
Non-Player Character Musical -- Brendan Bradley
Uncanny Alley: A New Day -- Ferryman Collective & Virtual Worlds Company

Best Campaign:
Captain Messi - Join the Fun -- CamOn XR
Farms of the Future AR for McCain Foods -- Rock Paper Reality & McCain
Ford Mustang XR Experience -- CamOn XR
OREO X PAC-MAN SUPERMARCADE -- ARKx, Form & Fun, Saatchi & Saatchi Germany
Snapchat x The LEGO Group - 10 Bricks Infinite Play -- Snapchat, The LEGO Group

Best Climate Change Solution:
Burn Zone: Immersive Truths from California's Wildfires -- Lucid Reality Labs
Connected Lands: Stories of Change and Resilience in Ramona and Barona -- Virtual Planet
Global Collaboration Village -- World Economic Forum
Guardians of the Reef -- Virtual Planet Technologies LLC
Microsoft Renewable Energy Generation - Digital Twin Simulation -- Treeview, Microsoft, TEYMA

Best Collaboration Tool:
Arthur One -- Arthur Technologies
Cactus XR -- Auki Labs
Campfire -- Campfire
Cisco Spatial meetings on Webex for Apple Vision Pro -- Cisco
Global Collaboration Village -- World Economic Forum

Best Consumer App:
ARLOOPA App -- ARLOOPA Inc.
FitXR -- FitXR
Pencil -- 4th Wall Breakers
Peridot Beyond -- Niantic Spatial
RC Pilot Trainer -- Quaternion Software
Tequila.AR: Revolutionizing Home Mixology Through Augmented Reality -- Diageo

Best Content Creator(s):
Dilmer Valecillos XR YouTube Channel -- Learn XR LLC
Getting Things Dun with JDun and JoyReign -- Onyx Leaf Media, LLC
Matteo311 -- Matteo311
Otterworldly -- Otterworldly
Q2C-VR Gamer -- Todd Jackson, Eric Masher

Best Creator & Authoring Tool:
ARLOOPA Studio -- ARLOOPA Inc.
Camon Studio -- CamOn XR
Lens Studio -- Snap Inc.
LIV Creator Kit -- LIV Inc
Niantic Studio -- Niantic Spatial
Shapelab Lite -- Leopoly
VIVERSE Create -- HTC VIVERSE

Best Developer Tool:
GroKit Core -- 3lbXR
Lens Studio -- Snap Inc.
Niantic Studio -- Niantic Spatial
STYLY for Vision Pro -- STYLY
The Excurio Platform -- Excurio

Best Education & Training Solution:
AR Experiential Education System -- UNBOUND SDN BHD
BPEIverse: Immersive Vision Suite -- University of Miami Bascom Palmer Eye Institute
Hoisting and Rigging VR -- NORCAT, NETCO
VictoryXR's Virtual Investigation Academy and CSI Experience -- VictoryXR
Virtual Hangar -- Mass Virtual
VIVALDI 3.0. The Immersive Universe of Four Seasons -- ONE Digital Consulting
XR Guru Healthcare Pathways Training -- XR Guru

Best Enterprise Solution:
Airbus Service 4.0 p-- Augmentalix & Sphere
Cactus - Spatial AI for Retail -- Auki Labs
echo3D - 3D Digital Asset Management Platform -- echo3D
Inflight XR powered by Meta l Elevating Travel with Mixed Reality -- Lufthansa, Meta
TELEDOMICA -- TELEDOMICA

Best Game or Toy:
Living Room -- Thoughtfish GmbH
Metro Awakening -- Vertigo Games
Mythic Realms -- Petricore
Skydance's BEHEMOTH -- Skydance Games
Spatial Ops -- Resolution Games
Starship Home -- Creature
Tiny Motors Arcade -- DB Creations
What If...? - An Immersive Story -- ILM

Best Headworn Device:
PICO 4 Ultra Enterprise -- PIC
Play For Dream MR -- Play For Dream
Snap Spectacles -- Snap Inc.
Vuzix Ultralite Pro Smart Glasses -- Vuzix corporation
XREAL One Series – XREAL

Best Healthcare & Wellness Solution:
AI-Driven Developmental Learning in VR: How VIZQ Empowers Pediatric Therapy -- Lucid Reality Labs
Fundamental Surgery -- FundamentalVR
Lilypad - Home as a Health Care Hub -- HKS Inc
Peridot -- Niantic Spatial, Augment Therapy
Simtryx – Simtryx

Best Indie Creator(s):
Ferryman Collective -- Ferryman Collective
In Tirol -- James C. Kane
Petricore -- Petricore
Ship Happens VR -- Cause + Christi
The Green Spurt -- Reality check

Best Interaction Product:
Avegant AI Glasses DevKit -- Avegant Corp.
Freeaim VR Shoes -- Freeaim Technologies ltd
Omni One -- Virtuix Inc.
TactSuit Pro -- bHaptics Inc.
TouchDIVER Pro -- WEART
X-Runner – NEWJAK

Best Location-Based Entertainment:
"The Last Stronghold" -- Excurio
AR in Google Maps for Paris Olympics -- Rock Paper Reality, Google
FanPort -- Draw & Code
Illumix AR for Camp Snoopy at Six Flag's Carowind -- Illumix
The Golden Age of the Jews of Al-Andalus -- University of Miami
THE MOON CRUISE -- TOKYO DOME CORPORATION, STYLY, Inc.
Xense AR -- Viettel High Technology Industries Corporation

Best Societal Impact:
Otter Rock: Beneath the Surface -- University of Oregon Reality Lab
Peridot franchise -- Niantic Spatial
Shadows of the Stabilisation Point -- Yle, Helsinki XR Center
Sign Language Translator -- Frame Sixty, LLC
Totems of Hope -- Simeone Scaramozzino

Best Use of AI:
GRACIA AI -- GRACIA AI, INC.
Lindus Reality -- Kinemeric
Medical AI Agent -- Lucid Reality Labs
ScanXplain -- Reality Apps
XREAL Eye Camera – XREAL

Best Web3 Implementation:
Culture Coins: Where High Fashion Meets Frictionless Web3 -- SNEAKAR
LayerDrone -- LayerDrone
McKenna -- Auki Labs
MetaKYC -- HCL TECHNOLOGIES LTD
The Posemesh -- Auki Labs

View the Auggie Awards Gallery here: https://auggies.awexr.com/gallery/EvVzNXex.

2025 Start-Up Pitch Competition Finalists Announced

This year, the AWE Start-Up Pitch Competition continues to showcase the next generation of XR innovation. A select group of AR and VR start-ups will present their groundbreaking ideas and technologies, competing for recognition as this year's Start-Up to Watch.

The finalists were chosen for their exceptional contributions to the XR space, each bringing fresh perspectives and exciting solutions to the immersive technology landscape. These visionary companies will pitch their cutting-edge ideas in front of a panel of esteemed XR investors during AWE USA 2025.

Finalists are listed on the Start-Up Pitch Competition page, with the winner announced live on June 11 during the Auggie Awards ceremony on the AWE USA 2025 Main Stage. The winning start-up will receive the Start-Up to Watch Auggie Award—an esteemed honor recognized by XR leaders, investors, and media.

Finalists are as follows:

See more about the finalists: https://www.awexr.com/usa-2025/startup_pitch.

Join the World's Largest XR Community at AWE USA 2025

AWE USA 2025 will welcome over 5,000 attendees, 400+ speakers, and 250+ global exhibitors at this year's leading immersive event.

Tickets are available for purchase now. Don't miss your chance to be part of the world's most influential XR gathering. Register for the conference here.

Members of the media or content creators that wish to request a media pass can do so at this link: https://awexr.com/press-pass

About AWE:

AWE (Augmented World Expo) is the world's leading AR+VR conference and expo with events in the USA, Asia and Europe. AWE events consistently bring together a mix of CEOs, CTOs, designers, developers, creative agencies, futurists, analysts, investors and top press in a unique opportunity to learn, inspire, partner and experience firsthand one of the most exciting industries of our times.

AWE USA 2025 marks the 16th edition of the must attend global XR industry event; now for the second time in our new home in Long Beach, California.

The 3-day AR VR conference is packed with sessions from 400+ top speakers across 14 tracks; covering tech and applications in many verticals. The Expo Hall features over 250 exhibitors offering hands-on experience with the latest spatial computing technologies.

Pre-conference workshops, community meetups, and networking opportunities give guests numerous ways to connect, learn, and grow their XR businesses at AWE USA.

For more information please contact:

Alyssa Maslowski
Lightspeed PR/M
[email protected]

SOURCE AWE (Augmented World Expo)