The 10 most innovative augmented and virtual reality companies of 2025

Innovative organizations are finding ways to make augmented and virtual reality a more efficient, and even more practical, way to interact with technologies and tools, including letting people learn complex skills through virtual training. The businesses in Fast Company‘s Most Innovative Companies in AR/VR reflect that trend.

Texas A&M University has brought AR/VR production into its celebrated Visualization program, letting students learn to build state-of-the-art virtual productions before they leave college. And other organizations are using AR/VR itself for educational purposes. Excurio has built immersive, historically accurate versions of iconic eras from 19th century Paris to ancient Egypt, while Varjo has adapted virtual reality headsets to enable more efficient pilot training, winning approval from the FAA in 2024.

FundamentalVR is using the technology to help train surgeons on new procedures and medical equipment, letting users practice techniques before they need to use them on human patients. Squint has created software that makes it easy to train manufacturing workers on hardware and techniques used in a plant, capturing documentation from video of experienced practitioners demonstrating those skills on real hardware. And Haiku has developed virtual twins of real-world digital networks to help train students and experts on cybersecurity operations and respond to diverse attacks through a game-like environment. 

On the infrastructure side of things, Xreal developed inexpensive AR eyewear that integrates with laptops and smartphones consumers and businesses already have, and Snap’s virtual Lenses let millions of its users tap AR to transform images they capture of the world around them and easily create their own Lenses with AI. And video game engine maker Unity released new versions of its software with added support for quickly building AR and VR features, including interacting with Apple’s Vision Pro headset.

1. Xreal

For bringing affordable AR/VR to popular apps and devices

For years, Xreal has been known for developing inexpensive AR/VR headsets that integrate with popular devices like smartphones, computers, and tablets. In January 2024, the company debuted its Xreal Air 2 Ultra line of AR glasses, equipped with the cameras and processing power necessary to provide spatial computing experiences comparable to professional devices from Apple and Meta, all for $699.

And in June 2024, it launched the Xreal Beam Pro, a smartphone-like touchscreen device that includes Google Play Store support, but which is designed for use with its glasses. Users can use the device as a pointer or control apps with its touchscreen while privately viewing apps, movies, or other content in augmented reality. The device has two USB-C ports, which allow it to stay plugged in while also connected to AR glasses, and supports Bluetooth audio output and keyboards. Xreal announced in January 2024 it had raised an additional $60 million in funding for further development of its AR glasses. And in October, it shared that it has sold more than 430,000 pairs of glasses as it promoted new retail distribution deals around the world, including with Micro Center in the United States.

2. Squint

For training manufacturing workers with AR/VR and AI

Squint, which launched in 2022, works with manufacturing companies to generate AR demos of common procedures. In April 2024, it unveiled Squint 2.0, which can use AI to automatically turn videos of a factory task into an AR demo for training or as a process refresher. The new software also includes an AI copilot that answers further questions users may have based on uploaded manuals and other relevant documents. Companies using the technology have found that it cuts downtime, boosts worker productivity, and significantly reduces the time needed to produce usable instructions. Squint’s mobile app can also help customers identify employees who may need additional training based on questions the employees ask, or highlight difficult tasks that could be simplified or streamlined. Customers include Ford, Michelin, and Colgate-Palmolive. In February 2024, the company also released Expert Eyes, an Apple Vision Pro app that provides VR video instructions for common tasks such as preparing recipes or changing a flat tire.

3. Excurio

For bringing virtual reality experiences—and audiences—to museums

Excurio builds immersive, historically accurate installations that feature a shared virtual reality for up to 100 simultaneous attendees. In 2024, the company made its North American debut with Horizon of Khufu, an exhibit in which visitors to sites in Montreal, Atlanta, and New York City don VR headsets to explore Egyptian life in the time of the pharaohs. It soon established a permanent venue in New York. The company also debuted Tonight with the Impressionists, Paris 1874, at the Musée d’Orsay in March 2024. In the 45-minute experience, visitors stroll with friends and family through the first Impressionist exhibit and the figures that inhabited artistic Paris 150 years ago. The exhibit brought new visitors to the storied institution, with 39% of visitors between 18 and 25 saying they were on their first trip to the museum, and 90% of visitors saying they had come specifically for the VR expedition.

Other exhibits focus on the history of Notre Dame and the evolution of life on Earth across nine eras and landscapes. The company has drawn more than 2 million visitors to its expeditions across 12 venues in five countries around the world.

4. Varjo

For bringing flight training into the VR age

Varjo creates leading-edge virtual and augmented reality headsets and software used to train complex, critical skills such as piloting planes. In August, the company and its partner Loft Dynamics announced that their VR-powered pilot training had become the first approved by the FAA to qualify toward pilot certification. In December 2023, Varjo launched its latest hardware series, the XR-4. It is designed to match the visual fidelity of users’ eyes, enabling wearers to examine sharp details in virtual and surrounding real-world environments such as a cockpit.

The XR-4 Focus Edition offers particularly high pixel density for enhanced realism. And for applications demanding maximum resilience, the Secure Edition, made in a specialized facility, offers assurance against tampering during manufacturing and offline operation to prevent network-based hacking. Varjo and partner Dogfight Boss also announced in August that their headset-based F-16 simulator had been deployed to help Ukraine train fighter pilots in its war with Russia. In the U.S., the company is working with the Army on virtual helicopter training and announced in November that it won a contract through the Air Force’s “Super Goggle” virtual flight training challenge.

5. FundamentalVR

For using virtual reality to train the next generation of surgeons

FundamentalVR uses VR to train surgeons on new techniques and equipment. In 2024, it added new features to its Fundamental Surgery platform to track user gestures, letting educators and makers of medical devices more efficiently see how quickly doctors understand products and techniques. AI-powered assessments guide users through refining their skills and improving techniques. The system can detect in real time when trainees make a mistake, reducing the risk of them making dangerous errors when working with real-life patients. And a new AI-powered tutoring system, dubbed Maia, can converse with doctors about the virtual environment and answer questions, reducing the need for one-size-fits-all written instructions.

In October, the American Academy of Ophthalmology and FundamentalVR launched a new pediatric eye surgery training program. The company has also received accreditation from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the Royal College of Surgeons of England for its training technologies. In September 2024, FundamentalVR released a new version of its Apple Vision Pro app, letting users practice skills like an ultrasound-guided femoral access procedure in an immersive virtual environment. FundamentalVR also supports haptic feedback, providing a realistic tactile experience to users as they practice surgery. The company reported a 59% year-over-year increase in revenue in 2024.

6. Rembrand

For using AR and AI to make ads and product placements less annoying

Rembrand uses augmented reality and generative AI technology to insert less annoying, more noticeable ads into online video. The company’s AI Studio technology, released in June 2024, lets video creators or ad studios easily insert promotional content like branded posters into videos post-production, with the AI adjusting the lighting, angles, and other attributes to make the inserted content look more natural. In June, the company announced support for more complex ad units, including 3D animated characters such as brand mascots or semi-transparent hologram ads that can interact with on-screen environments.

Rembrand’s ads are much easier to insert than traditional after-the-fact product placement. Integrated right into the video, they’re less likely to send users switching to another app or video than traditional interruptive ads. The company’s supported platforms include YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitch and Instagram. In 2024, ads that it created with companies like Lenovo, PepsiCo and L’Oreal registered greater visibility than traditional ads. Working with PepsiCo brands Starry and Bubly across 14 YouTube and TikTok content creators, a campaign initially targeting 7 million impressions ultimately received over 18.5 million global views.

7. Haiku

For using virtual gaming to teach real world cybersecurity

Haiku uses the Unity game engine to build digital roleplaying games that help employers and colleges train workers and students on cybersecurity. The company says the audience for roleplaying games is 60% female, meaning the approach can help narrow the gender gap in cybersecurity (and most capture-the-flag competitions on the platform have been won by women). In 2024, the company released support for new digital protocols, operating systems, and 5G network emulation. It also added features letting companies build digital twins of their own networks—virtual environments where employees can practice without disrupting real operations, even working offline for security’s sake.

The company in December 2023 released Haiku Forge, which makes it easier for businesses to customize their own experiences. Haiku even supports emulation of real network compromises, enabling virtual versions of real-world attacks and responses to those threats. In July, it won a DARPA award to support its expansion into 5G training. In May 2024, the company secured funding from the U.S. Air Force to add more advanced AI into its experiences. The military branch followed up in August with an additional $1.8 million contract to support cybersecurity training for its ranks.

8. Unity

For creating a technical foundation for the latest AR/VR experiences

Unity has long allowed developers to build games and other interactive experiences that work across multiple computing platforms. In January 2024, it announced support for Apple’s visionOS, unveiling so-called PolySpatial technology that makes it easy for apps and games to exist with content in the real world. The technology has been used by brands like Audi and Diageo to provide Apple Vision Pro access to information about products like the Audi Q6 e-tron and Don Julio tequila, and game makers harnessed Unity’s cross-platform support to quickly bring apps to Apple’s new VR platform.

Businesses like KLM and Bosch Rexroth have also used Unity’s virtual reality tech for more than playing games, deploying it for everything from training employees to showing off new products in virtual showrooms. And in October 2024, the company launched Unity 6, the latest version of its engine. In addition to targeting improved performance and enabling powerful new effects, VR-specific features include enhanced interactions based on VR motion sensors, support for foveated high-resolution rendering based on eye tracking, and developer templates to simplify building multiplayer VR games.

9. Snap

For putting the power of AR into millions of hands

In 2024, Snapchat parent Snap unveiled new Lenses to customize selfies and surroundings, transforming images into virtual worlds of the past or future in just seconds versus the minutes of previous iterations. In June, the company launched Lens Studio 5.0, giving developers more power to build and share their own Lenses, and in September, it unveiled Easy Lens, which uses generative AI to create custom Lenses with a descriptive prompt. More than 375,000 users have made more than 4 million Lenses; on average, more than 300 million people use Snap’s Lenses every day.

The company also revealed in September that its AI was gaining more powerful features to let it translate written text, identify plants and other objects, and even interpret complex parking signs. Snap in September also introduced a new version of its Spectacles—AR glasses that support Lenses—powered by a new Snap OS. LEGO Group, ILM Immersive, Niantic, and Wabisabi Games are already among those using Lens Studio to create new AR experiences for Spectacles, which are available to developers for $99 per month.

10. Texas A&M University

For bringing AR/VR production experience to the next generation of students

In February 2024, Texas A&M approved a new Virtual Production Institute after a $25 million award from the Texas legislature, helping the state’s oldest public university continue to meet evolving student and industry needs. The Institute, based at the Bryan-College Station campus with an extension at the Texas A&M-Fort Worth campus, will train students for careers using extended reality. New virtual production stages enable immersive effects beyond what green screens can support, and the Institute intends to offer virtual workforce training for sectors that include healthcare, the military, and manufacturing. The facility is also likely to be used for building a virtual twin of a manufacturing environment, letting a company see how best to lay out robotics and other features of the factory. In addition, the university debuted a new minor in virtual production. Graduate students in the school’s storied Visualization program have already begun coursework in virtual production, working with experts at Texas’s own Stray Vista Studios.

Explore the full 2025 list of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, 609 organizations that are reshaping industries and culture. We’ve selected the companies making the biggest impact across 58 categories, including advertising, applied AI, biotech, retail, sustainability, and more.