- Emerging LA
- Posts
- 🌴 Next-Gen Media Mixer + AWE Conference Recap
🌴 Next-Gen Media Mixer + AWE Conference Recap
#052: Meet YC-backed AI founders at our Next-Gen Media happy hour, AWE 2025 conference recap on the future of XR & immersive media


Emerging LA is a community of 14K founders, investors, & operators focused on the application of emerging technologies in traditional industries. We have curated 50+ events for members who share our mission of making LA a top startup ecosystem.
TLDR: Issue #052 Summary
Augmented World Expo 2025
AWE brought the world’s leading XR expo to Long Beach
Hands-on demos, top speakers, and cutting-edge tech
Trending
a16z dropped a new market map on GenAI Video apps
YC-backed sync labs made the list with its lip-sync model
Upcoming Events
Poll: What event format would you like to attend?

The world’s biggest AR & VR conference
Last week, Long Beach hosted AWE 2025, attracting 5,000+ attendees, 250 exhibitors, and 450 speakers.
AI, better hardware, and lower costs are driving real adoption.
AR/VR is no longer hype. It’s happening.

Augmented World Expo 2025 at the Long Beach Convention Center
Leaders from Google, Meta, Snap, and Qualcomm showed how XR is reshaping tech, content, and storytelling, from Meta x Ray-Ban to Snap’s Lens Studio.
Our favorite panel was Palmer Luckey’s talk on XR in the military.
The Eagle Eye headset, built by Anduril, Meta, and Qualcomm, shows how high-spec defense tech could eventually shape the future of consumer and content experiences.

Palmer Luckey on Groundbreaking Advancements with XR in Military and Defense
We’re super excited to see where XR and immersive media go next!
Speaking of, if you are as passionate about media technology as we are…
Come to our Next-Gen Media Happy Hour.
We are co-hosting with Sync Labs, a Y Combinator-backed startup building a state-of-the-art AI lip-sync model.
I built the simplest way to convert your video to other languages.
all you need is a youtube link. no install required.
curious? check out @lexfridman + zuck talking about @elonmusk in hindi.
— Prady (@therealprady)
6:28 PM • Jul 16, 2023

GenAI Video Market Map
Sync was highlighted in the trending post for this week… a new market map release by a16z!
This map shows the top tech startups building in AI video generation.
Sync is in great company, along with Runway, Pika, Higgsfield, HeyGen, Captions, Synthesia, and more.
🚨 New market map: AI video generation
So much has happened in this space over the last few months - it's hard to keep up with all the new models.
This covers text-to-video and image-to-video companies + those that make characters talk.
Will be on @tbpn later to discuss!
— Justine Moore (@venturetwins)
4:01 PM • Jun 18, 2025


More Events

Do you want to reach 14K tech leaders in LA?
Content: Sponsor an issue to reach 13,500+ subscribers across our weekly blog, Luma calendar, & LinkedIn newsletter
Event: Sponsor an event to engage directly with attendees. We have hosted over 50 events and 5,000+ guests through dinners, panel mixers, and private tours
Fact-based news without bias awaits. Make 1440 your choice today.
Overwhelmed by biased news? Cut through the clutter and get straight facts with your daily 1440 digest. From politics to sports, join millions who start their day informed.

What event format do you like the most?We want to make sure there is something for everyone! |

3 Ways to Never Miss Events
📩 Email: have this newsletter hit your inbox
🔔 Social: subscribe on LinkedIn for updates
📆 Calendar: follow our Luma for event dates
Did a friend forward you this? Make sure YOU can access future events by joining the member list here.
(Important) If this hit your “Promotions” tab, please drag to your priority inbox so you don’t miss updates!
Follow the Emerging LA authors on LinkedIn