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Augmented World Expo 2026 Reveals Auggie Award Finalists, Rising XR Builders, "Startup to Watch" Nominees, and Enterprise XR LeadersEmerging builders, startups, and enterprises recognized at the world's leading XR conference LONG BEACH, Calif., May 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As Augmented World Expo (AWE) USA 2026 prepares to open in Long Beach, California, the global XR community will gather to celebrate a landmark year of innovation across XR, spatial computing, AI, and robotics. Now in its 17th year, AWE USA 2026 highlights the 2026 Auggie Awards finalists, a curated selection of 20 promising XR builders, 10 startups competing for the "Startup to Watch" Auggie Award, new XR games from gaming studios and location-based entertainment creators, and more than 300 enterprises and government organizations scaling XR deployments. Guided by this year's theme, "I, Spatial: Humans Empowered by Spatial AI," AWE continues to showcase the importance of AI and XR convergence to maintain human agency when AI agents proliferate the world. 2026 Auggie Awards Finalists Announced The finalists for the 2026 Auggie Awards have officially been revealed, showcasing the boldest ideas and significant breakthroughs that are driving XR advancements. This year's program received over 330 entries, reflecting an industry that continues to shift toward more practical, human-centered innovation. Across the submissions, a few clear patterns stand out: AI has become a core layer in spatial experiences, AR glasses continue to lead the headworn category, location-based entertainment (LBE) is seeing rapid growth within VR, and impact-driven XR solutions reached record levels of participation. 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 18 categories, highlighting the top global innovations in XR. Finalists are showcased in the Auggie Awards Gallery, with winners announced live on June 17 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 2026 finalists, and thank you to the global XR community for another record-breaking year of submissions and support. Finalists for each category are as follows: Best Art or Film: Best Campaign: Best Consumer App: Best Content Creation Tool: Best Content Creator(s): Best Developer Tool: Best Education & Training Solution: Best Enterprise Solution: Best Game or Toy: Best Headworn Device: Best Healthcare & Wellness Solution: Best Indie Creator(s): Best Interaction Product: Best Location-Based Entertainment: Best Reality Capture (a new category in partnership with Reality Capture Network): Best Societal Impact: Best Use of AI: Most Ethical Product (new category in partnership with the XR Guild): 21 promising XR builders Unveiling Eye-Opening Projects This year's Select Builders lineup spotlights emerging XR creators and startups that are transforming spatial computing, AI-powered experiences, immersive storytelling, and smart glasses. The showcase spans from AI-assisted tools and spatial streaming to mixed reality tourism, wearable AR hardware, museum gamification, and cultural experiences. The selected builders are as follows:
Read the full blog post of selected builders: https://www.awexr.com/blog/1379-meet-the-select-builders-at-awe-usa-2026. 18 Gaming Studios and Location Based Entertainment (LBE) Leaders Launching New Experiences A diverse lineup of leading gaming studios and location-based entertainment creators are debuting new XR experiences at the AWE Gaming Hub and LBE Zone sponsored by Pico, spanning immersive storytelling, competitive gameplay, fitness, social VR, and interactive worlds:
10 Startups Competing for the "Startup to Watch" Auggie Award Ten early-stage companies will compete for the "Startup to Watch" Auggie Award, which celebrates emerging innovators that are leading the next wave of spatial computing, AI, healthcare, and immersive systems:
300 Enterprise Organizations Scaling XR+AI Deployments More than 300 enterprises scaling XR across real-world deployments will share insights about their deployments in the Enterprise VIP program at AWE 2026. Across industries like manufacturing, healthcare, defense, built environment, retail, education, energy and logistics, XR is increasingly being used for training, digital twins, simulation, design, and field operations—reflecting a shift from early adoption into broader, operational use. Enterprise organizations leading these deployments include: Adidas, Boeing, Disney, Netflix, Toyota, Walmart, The Coca-Cola Company, NASA, JPMorganChase, General Motors, Verizon, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Raytheon, Blue Origin, Delta Air Lines, Honda Motor Co., Inc., Airbus Helicopters, Deutsche Telekom AG, Rolls-Royce, Warner Bros. Discovery, Siemens Energy, Fidelity Investments, Abbott Laboratories, Axon, CDC, NBA, US Air Force, National Institutes of Health, and many more. Join the World's Largest XR Community at AWE USA 2026 Media passes are available now to both journalists and creators for AWE 2026—sign up for one here: https://www.awexr.com/media. Tickets to AWE 2026 are on sale now: https://events.awexr.com/usa-2026. About AWE AWE events feature the latest in personal AI, physical AI, and robotics, alongside the full spatial spectrum from AI smartglasses to Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), and Virtual Reality (VR). The programming covers Fortune 500 case studies, digital twins, reality capture, XR gaming, location-based entertainment, immersive video, a narrative art festival, and the latest academic research. The community brings together a diverse audience of top platforms, solution providers, enterprises, and governments. AWE also serves as a central hub for startups, investors, builders, developers, manufacturers, gaming studios, artists, academia, and global media. The 2026 theme, "I, Spatial – Humans Empowered by Spatial AI," offers a human-centric alternative to giving unchecked responsibility to AI. It serves as a call to action to restore human agency in an AI world and a commitment to building a future that is responsible, ethical, and equitable. AWE remains dedicated to its mission: Advance XR to Advance Humanity. For this year's event AWE expects more than 250 exhibitors, 5,000 attendees and 400 speakers. Contact: [email protected]
SOURCE AWE (Augmented World Expo) 
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