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🌴 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

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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

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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…

We are co-hosting with Sync Labs, a Y Combinator-backed startup building a state-of-the-art AI lip-sync model. 

Trending - Check out the buzz from social media around tech community

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.

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Written by Brandon, Justin, and Gary