We talk a lot about VR/AR headsets, but people buy a headset because there's "something to do" inside it. This node is the entire software layer of the XR world — the tools that build 3D worlds (Unity, Unreal), the stores that distribute content and take a cut (Meta Store, visionOS), and the content that gives people a reason to wear the headset (games like Beat Saber). It's also the most brutal "chicken-and-egg" story in tech: good content needs enough users to be worth the cost, but users only show up once there's good content first.
Jefferies Downgrades Roblox to Underperform, Says Rally Overpriced
Jefferies cut its rating on Roblox to Underperform, arguing the stock's recent post-earnings rally has already priced in more bookings strength than the business is likely to deliver. The downgrade follows a sharp pullback in Roblox shares, with a 1-day return of -9.86% and a 7-day decline of 18.32%, though the 30-day share price return remains up 8.64%. The stock now trades near US$42, sitting between a Jefferies target of US$38 and a much higher intrinsic estimate, while the year-to-date share price return is down 48.29% and the 1-year total shareholder return is down 70.43%. The most followed narrative on the stock pegs fair value closer to $21.48, implying a steep valuation gap, while a discounted cash flow model estimates fair value at $74.84. Roblox faces real pressure if bookings growth underwhelms or if safety and content moderation expenses keep cash generation from tracking the optimistic narrative.
Meta Unveils 100-Gram VR Glasses at $1,299.99, Sets Spring 2027 Launch
Meta Platforms unveiled Meta VR Glasses, a roughly 100-gram virtual-reality device that will go on sale in spring 2027 for $1,299.99. The headset features a 5K Infinite Display with micro-OLED panels, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, runs on Qualcomm's Snapdragon Reality Elite processor, and integrates Meta AI with eye, voice and hand-gesture controls; a two-part design houses compute, battery and storage in a separate tethered puck. Meta VR Glasses are the first IMAX Enhanced-certified VR device, offering 3D movies and more than 100 immersive live U.S. sports events annually, plus multi-screen workspaces and more than 75 games at launch. The launch comes as Meta's Reality Labs revenues rose 16% year over year to $431 million in the second quarter of 2026, growth that was partially offset by lower Quest headset sales, and as Apple expands Apple Vision Pro into accessibility applications such as eye-based control for power wheelchair drive systems and Alphabet pushes Android XR smart glasses built with Samsung, Gentle Monster and Warby Parker. Meta shares have rallied 17.8% year to date, trailing the broader Zacks Computer & Technology sector's 21.7% return, and carry a forward 12-month Price/Sales of 6.77X versus the Internet Software industry's 4.42X.
META · Technology · Positive Meta unveiled its 100-gram Meta VR Glasses with 5K micro-OLED display, Meta AI integration and IMAX Enhanced certification, a new product launch.
QCOM · Demand · Positive Meta's new VR Glasses run on Qualcomm's Snapdragon Reality Elite processor, a concrete product design win for Qualcomm.
Meta Unveils Muse Charm Device and AI Glasses at Connect Event
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg used the Meta Connect event to unveil the Muse Charm, a standalone pocket device built exclusively for voice interaction with the company's new Muse agent, and to showcase a major shift toward what he called Personal Superintelligence. The hardware push also included the Meta VR Glasses, weighing just 100 grams, roughly one-fifth the weight of Meta's Quest 3, priced at $1,299 with 5K micro-OLED displays, tethered puck processing, and native eye and hand tracking. On the smart eyewear front, Meta debuted the third-generation Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 glasses starting at an entry-level $249, alongside camera-free Ray-Ban Meta Audio glasses designed purely for open-ear listening and AI voice interaction. Meta's Muse has amassed over 3.4 million downloads since its September 8 launch, according to new Sensor Tower data obtained by Yahoo Finance, accumulating 2.8 million downloads in its first two weeks, while ChatGPT, Grok, and Claude received 3.7 million, 400k, and 300k global downloads during the same 14-day post-launch period. Meta has added about $234 billion to its market cap in the past five days, and the stock is up over 40% in the past month.
Artificial Intelligence › Edge & On-device AI Silicon Technology
Artificial Intelligence › Agentic AI & Autonomous Workflows Competition
META · Technology · Positive Meta unveiled new hardware (Muse Charm device, 100g VR Glasses, Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3) and its Muse AI agent at Connect.
META · Demand · Positive Meta's Muse agent amassed over 3.4 million downloads since its September 8 launch, outpacing ChatGPT, Grok, and Claude in the first two weeks.
Unity Software Offers Day One Engine Support for Meta's Next-Gen VR Glasses
Unity Software said it will provide day one engine support for Meta's next-generation VR Glasses, giving creators a toolkit to build launch experiences with advanced rendering features and direct integration with Meta's AI assistants and workflows. Developers can begin preparing titles ahead of the headset release using updated Unity plugins aligned with Meta's latest VR and mixed reality APIs. Unity runs a development platform used to create and deploy games and interactive 3D content across mobile, PC, consoles, and extended reality devices, so close alignment with Meta's headset tools helps keep its engine embedded in the workflows many VR and mixed reality teams already use. The real proof point will come as launch titles and tool usage for Meta VR Glasses start to show up in Unity's Create segment metrics around and after the spring 2027 retail release, especially any disclosure on subscription uptake or partner expansion tied specifically to XR projects.
U · Technology · Positive Unity will offer day-one engine support for Meta's next-gen VR Glasses, keeping its engine embedded in VR/mixed-reality developer workflows.
META · Technology · Positive Unity providing day-one engine support with direct integration to Meta's AI assistants and VR APIs strengthens the launch ecosystem for Meta's next-gen VR Glasses.
Meta Unveils $1,299 VR Glasses and Expanded Muse AI Agent at Connect 2026
Meta Platforms used Meta Connect 2026 to unveil a $1,299 VR glasses device, expand its AI glasses lineup and bring its Muse personal AI agent to more products, drawing mixed reactions from market watchers. Deepwater Asset Management managing partner Gene Munster said he expected Meta shares to be "flat to down" after Mark Zuckerberg's keynote, citing a lack of concrete information on Muse adoption, and Meta shares slipped 1.36 in after-hours trading. Munster said the key takeaway was Zuckerberg's long-term vision for Muse as the "soul" of Meta, calling it "bad news" for Google. Bloomberg columnist Mark Gurman called the $1,299 device "incredible," saying it approaches Apple's Vision Pro experience while weighing about one-sixth as much and costing less than half as much, with Meta planning a spring 2027 launch for the roughly 100-gram glasses. Futurum Equities chief market strategist Shay Boloor said the bigger shift is Muse becoming the interface, while The Future Fund managing partner Gary Black took a bullish view of Muse's potential to help users shop, pay bills and manage their lives. Meta launched Muse on Sept. 8 and the app has surpassed 2.5 million downloads.
Artificial Intelligence › Agentic AI & Autonomous Workflows Competition
Artificial Intelligence › AI Applications & Copilots Competition
META · Technology · Neutral Meta unveiled a $1,299 VR glasses device, expanded its AI glasses lineup and brought the Muse AI agent to more products, though analysts flagged a lack of concrete Muse adoption data.
GOOG · Competition · Negative Munster calls Zuckerberg's long-term vision for Muse as Meta's 'soul' bad news for Google, implying a competitive threat to Alphabet's AI/assistant position.
AAPL · Competition · Neutral Gurman says Meta's $1,299 glasses approach Apple's Vision Pro experience while weighing far less and costing less than half as much, a competitive comparison rather than an Apple-specific development.
Meta Connect 2026 Preview: Muse AI Momentum Meets $130-$145 Billion Spending Plan
Meta Platforms is heading into Meta Connect 2026 on Sept. 23 and 24, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg expected to unveil new smart glasses, a VR headset and updates to the company's metaverse push. The event follows an 11% single-day surge in META stock, driven by strong reception of the new Muse AI assistant, which launched on Sept. 8 and racked up 730,000 downloads in roughly five days, overtaking ChatGPT as the top free iOS app in the United States. Meta expects capital expenditures of $130-$145 billion in 2026, with total expenses guided between $165 billion and $169 billion, while second-quarter revenue of $60.8 billion was almost entirely advertising at $59.36 billion and Reality Labs posted a $4.62 billion operating loss on just $431 million of revenue. In late August, the company agreed to pay roughly $17 billion to settle state lawsuits alleging it misrepresented the harm its apps could cause to children and teens, and Amazon has already blocked Muse from accessing its shopping site over privacy and security concerns. The Zacks Consensus Estimate implies 2026 sales and EPS growth of 26.4% and 34% respectively, though EPS estimates have declined over the past 60 days, and META carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
META · Regulation · Negative Meta agreed to pay roughly $17 billion to settle state lawsuits alleging it misrepresented harm its apps could cause to children and teens
META · Technology · Positive Meta Connect 2026 preview highlights new smart glasses, VR headset and metaverse updates alongside strong reception of the Muse AI assistant
AMZN · Competition · Negative Amazon blocked Meta's Muse AI assistant from accessing its shopping site over privacy and security concerns
Snap Taps Nvidia AI Stack for $2,195 SPECS Enterprise Glasses
Snap Inc. announced partnerships with Nvidia Corp, Salesforce, Inc. and Amazon Web Services on Wednesday to bring its $2,195 SPECS glasses into enterprise environments, pitching the device as a new computer rather than another pair of smart glasses. Under the deal, Nvidia will bring agents built on its XR AI stack to the glasses, allowing them to interpret a worker's surroundings and provide real-time guidance, while Salesforce's Agentforce can help workers identify objects, retrieve information and update workflows and AWS is connecting its AI assistant to tasks such as checking inventory. Trifork and Hololight are developing applications for remote technical support and spatial workstations. Snap has priced SPECS at $2,195, with shipping expected later this fall in the U.S., U.K. and France, and is also introducing SPECS Intelligence, an anticipatory AI service designed to understand users' goals, routines and priorities across iPhone, Mac and the glasses. CEO Evan Spiegel has described SPECS as a computer that puts computing into the world rather than asking people to look down at a screen, and for Nvidia the key question is whether AR glasses become another endpoint where AI agents need continuous visual understanding and inference.
Artificial Intelligence › Agentic AI & Autonomous Workflows ▲Technology
SNAP · Demand · Positive Snap announced enterprise partnerships with Nvidia, Salesforce and AWS and priced its SPECS glasses at $2,195 with shipping this fall.
NVDA · Demand · Positive Nvidia will bring agents built on its XR AI stack to Snap's SPECS glasses, creating a new endpoint for its AI inference technology.
AMZN · Demand · Positive AWS is connecting its AI assistant to SPECS glasses tasks such as checking inventory, a partnership that expands AWS's enterprise AI reach.
CRM · Demand · Positive Salesforce's Agentforce will be integrated into Snap's SPECS glasses to help workers identify objects and update workflows, extending its enterprise AI platform.
Hololight · Demand · Positive Hololight is developing applications for remote technical support and spatial workstations for Snap's SPECS glasses.
Roblox Corporation announced "Roblox Everywhere," a program that will let creators publish their experiences as standalone applications across multiple platforms, expanding distribution beyond the core Roblox app. The initiative could reshape how value is shared on the platform by turning individual Roblox experiences into app-like products that reach users who may never open the main Roblox client. The most relevant recent announcement alongside Roblox Everywhere is Build, the in-app, AI-assisted creation tool, which lowers the barrier for new creators and may increase both the volume and variety of experiences that can benefit from distribution as standalone apps. Roblox's narrative projects $10.1 billion revenue and $1.2 billion earnings by 2029, requiring 21.3% yearly revenue growth and a $2.2 billion earnings increase from -$1.0 billion today, while the most bearish analysts assumed about 15.2 percent annual revenue growth to roughly US$8.7 billion and no profits by 2029. The announcement potentially strengthens the short-term catalyst of deepening engagement and monetization per experience, but does not directly reduce the key risk that rising creator payouts and heavy infrastructure costs could still outpace monetization and keep the company unprofitable.
RBLX · Technology · Positive Roblox Everywhere lets creators publish experiences as standalone apps across platforms, expanding distribution and deepening engagement/monetization per experience.
Meta Connect 2026 Kicks Off September 23 at Menlo Park Campus
Meta Connect 2026 begins Wednesday, September 23 at 4:00 P.M. at Meta's campus in Menlo Park, California, headlining a week of investor events that also includes McDonald's Investor Day and a White House meeting between President Trump and China President Xi. The two-day livestreamed Meta showcase will include updates on the company's latest work in AI, AI-powered glasses, virtual and mixed reality, and related developer technologies, with major product announcements and a keynote from CEO Mark Zuckerberg anticipated. McDonald's holds its highly-anticipated Investor Day the same day, with investors watching how management plans to restore U.S. momentum while sustaining international growth and the durability of its new beverage platform, whose launches in the U.S., Canada, and Germany reportedly exceeded expectations. On Thursday, September 24, President Trump meets China President Xi at the White House, with Taiwan, AI, tariffs, and global conflicts expected on the agenda and more details possible on China's purchase of Boeing aircraft; Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon are expected at the evening state dinner. Also Thursday, a bond hearing is scheduled at 4:30 p.m. related to Paramount Skydance's planned $110B purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery. The week's earnings slate includes Autozone, Thor Industries, and KB Home on Tuesday; Cintas, Paychex, General Mills, and Cracker Barrel on Wednesday; and Darden Restaurants and Costco on Thursday.
Virtualware, GlobePoint Sign MoU With Korean Education Group to Roll Out VIROO
Virtualware, together with its South Korean partner GlobePoint, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Korean Education Group to introduce the VIROO platform across KEG's education ecosystem, covering vocational education, digital academies, IT and game development training, industry-oriented learning programs, and higher education initiatives. The agreement sets a framework to support KEG's "Vision 2030: A Time of New Possibilities" strategy, which aims to grow the group's revenues from KRW 200 billion, or €130 million, to KRW 500 billion, or €325 million. KEG is one of South Korea's leading private education groups, serving more than 1.8 million students through a nationwide network of 64 campuses and 8 specialized academy brands, supported by four subsidiaries focused on marketing, digital platforms, IT services, and business acceleration. David Moreno, Chief Business Development Officer of Virtualware, said the deal marks an important step in expanding VIROO's presence in South Korea, while KEG CEO Kim Young-woo said the collaboration reflects the group's commitment to innovation in South Korean and Asian education. GlobePoint will provide local expertise, market insight, and strategic guidance beyond market representation, and the signing ceremony took place during Edtech Korea.
ALVIR.PA · Demand · Positive Virtualware signs MoU with Korean Education Group to roll out its VIROO platform across KEG's education ecosystem
GlobePoint · Demand · Positive GlobePoint is Virtualware's partner in the MoU and will provide local expertise and strategic guidance for the VIROO rollout
Korean Education Group · Demand · Positive Korean Education Group signs MoU to adopt VIROO across its vocational, digital, IT and higher-education programs
Lightstorm Vision Acquires Outsyders to Scale 3D Content Production
Lightstorm Vision, the integrated 3D production technology developer founded by James Cameron, has acquired Outsyders, the creative-tech collective behind an AI-driven stereoscopic pipeline used on projects for Disney, IMAX, Samsung, and Google. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Outsyders, founded by Paul Becker, Jared Sandrew, and Chris Harvey and launched in April 2024, has delivered the IMAX 3D version of Blue Angels, a 3D reimagining of Disney's Lilo & Stitch, Doug Liman's 8K high-frame-rate stereoscopic film Asteroid for Samsung and Google, and work on Tron: Ares and Moana, and currently has more than five feature films in progress. The acquisition folds Outsyders' stereoscopic processing platform into Lightstorm Vision's native capture and production system, which the companies describe as the industry's first end-to-end solution for producing 3D content across both new productions and existing content libraries. Lightstorm Vision said the combined platform is built to convert existing 2D libraries into premium stereoscopic content at lower cost and to serve a new generation of stereoscopic-native Meta VR devices under its multi-year partnership with Meta. Cameron said his company has worked with Becker's team for almost two years and called their AI tools world class, while Becker said the combined technologies were the most logical step for the format.
Lightstorm Vision · Capital · Positive Lightstorm Vision acquires Outsyders, folding its AI-driven stereoscopic pipeline into its own 3D production platform.
Outsyders · Capital · Positive Outsyders is acquired by Lightstorm Vision, bringing its stereoscopic processing platform and team into the combined company.
META · Demand · Positive Lightstorm Vision's combined platform is built to serve a new generation of stereoscopic-native Meta VR devices under its multi-year Meta partnership.
Roblox Unveils Everywhere Distribution and Build Tool at RDC 2026
Roblox used its 2026 Roblox Developers Conference to mark its 20th anniversary and roll out a wave of new platform features centered on more play, more building, and more growth. The headliner was Roblox Everywhere, which will let creators distribute Roblox experiences as standalone apps on mobile, PC, and consoles, with plans to let users open games directly in Google Chrome by the end of 2026 and support for other browsers later. The company also previewed Build, a prompt-based, mobile-focused creation tool, saying 9K games had been published through its New Zealand alpha by September 1 and that 71% of its creators had not previously used Roblox Studio, with the alpha expanding to Serbia and Singapore. Roblox introduced Wallet, a Creator Hub financial account for eligible U.S.-based independent creators age 18 and older that will make cleared earnings available in real currency each business day beginning later this year, with a linked Roblox Card planned for 2027. The company said creators have earned more than $5B through its Developer Exchange program since 2013, including about $1.7B in the past year, and shares of Roblox moved up 1.5% in late Friday afternoon trading.
RBLX · Technology · Positive Roblox unveiled Roblox Everywhere distribution and the prompt-based Build creation tool, expanding how creators publish and build experiences.
RBLX · Demand · Positive Build's alpha drew 9K published games and 71% first-time creators, signaling broader creator adoption of the platform.
Perfect Corp. and QWEEN Launch 3D Jewellery Virtual Try-On
Perfect Corp. (NYSE: PERF) has partnered with QWEEN, India's first self-discovery experiential luxury jewellery brand, to launch an immersive 3D Virtual Try-On experience across QWEEN's digital platform. The experience, powered by Perfect Corp.'s Web Consultation Mode for Jewellery, lets shoppers see rings, earrings, and bracelets on themselves in real time, supporting up to 2,300 Virtual Try-On-enabled SKUs. Built on Physically Based Rendering, the technology recreates material textures, reflections, and light scattering to present gold, diamonds, and gemstones with true-to-life detail. QWEEN's team can upload 3D files and product imagery directly to Perfect Corp.'s console, using the self-service 3D Authoring Tool to transform assets into AR-ready experiences without manual production. The partnership aims to build confidence in high-consideration jewellery purchases, with QWEEN's portfolio spanning 7 colours of gold and 100% natural diamonds and gemstones.
PERF · Demand · Positive Perfect Corp. partnered with QWEEN to launch its 3D Virtual Try-On jewellery experience, expanding adoption of its AR platform.
QWEEN · Demand · Positive QWEEN launched an immersive 3D Virtual Try-On experience on its digital platform via the Perfect Corp. partnership, enhancing its online jewellery shopping.
Stryker Completes First Hip Arthroscopy with FDA-Cleared Apple Vision Pro App
Stryker announced the successful completion of the first hip arthroscopy procedure using its SportSuite Vision application on Apple Vision Pro at Duke Health, following the FDA's De Novo authorization in July, making it the first surgical application approved for intraoperative use with Apple's mixed reality headset. The procedure was performed by orthopedic surgeon Chad Mather III, demonstrating the platform's transition from regulatory clearance to real-world clinical adoption. SportSuite Vision is designed for femoroacetabular impingement and labral repair procedures, combining arthroscopic video, HipCheck, HipMap FAI Analysis, and CT imaging in a customizable spatial computing environment. While the launch is unlikely to materially affect near-term revenue, it could enhance Stryker's competitive position and support long-term growth as hospitals adopt advanced operating room technologies. Shares of Stryker traded flat on Wednesday, and year to date, the stock has lost 11.1% compared with the industry's 17% decline, while the S&P 500 has risen 10.9%. Stryker also recently agreed to acquire ZuriMED, developer of the FiberLocker System for rotator cuff augmentation, to strengthen its shoulder portfolio.
SYK · Technology · Positive First hip arthroscopy performed using Stryker's FDA-cleared SportSuite Vision app on Apple Vision Pro, marking real-world clinical adoption of its new surgical platform.
SYK · Capital · Positive Stryker agreed to acquire ZuriMED, developer of the FiberLocker System, to strengthen its shoulder portfolio.
Emdoor Information's first-half net profit attributable to parent surges 1,614.8% year on year to 196 million yuan
Emdoor Information released its 2026 interim report, with net profit attributable to the parent company soaring 1,614.8% year on year to 196 million yuan. The company's operating revenue was 2.75 billion yuan, up 80.7% year on year; net profit attributable to the parent after deducting non-recurring items was 103 million yuan, up 756.3% year on year; net operating cash flow was negative 744 million yuan, down 134.2% year on year. In the second quarter, operating revenue was 1.61 billion yuan, up 65.9% year on year, and net profit attributable to the parent was 153 million yuan, up 1,076.4% year on year. The company said that, influenced by the wave of AI technology in the global consumer electronics industry, the sector is undergoing a structural recovery. The company continues to deepen its AI-plus core development strategy. Operating revenue from smart hardware products grew 59.23%, XR and AIoT business grew 133.29%, and domestic substitution business grew 51.72%.
Apple Cuts Over 200 Jobs in Siri and Vision Pro Teams
Apple Inc. is cutting more than 200 jobs across teams responsible for the Siri digital assistant and the Vision Pro headset as part of an effort to focus on new devices and artificial intelligence. The layoffs include about 100 positions eliminated from the Vision Pro organization and another 100 from the Siri and software teams, including the Intelligent Systems Experience group that works on AI features. The company is largely shutting down a Vision Pro team focused on gaming for the headset and reducing the size of a unit responsible for producing immersive video content. Apple said it is realigning some teams to evolve its business and deliver the best experiences for users, while creating new roles and supporting affected employees through the transition. The Siri reshuffling is tied to an upcoming AI-infused version of the assistant built on a new technical architecture, and the Vision Pro changes reflect an effort to realign priorities based on how customers are using the device.
Tencent Launches AI-Powered Digital Jingdezhen Cultural Heritage Game
Tencent Holdings has launched Digital Jingdezhen, an AI-powered game that revives porcelain craft traditions through immersive digital experiences. Players explore digitally recreated historical sites and learn traditional porcelain-making techniques, highlighting Tencent's application of gaming and AI technology in cultural preservation. The project uses AI-assisted procedural generation, digital humans, and 3D asset creation, technology that could be reused for other cities, museums, or themed experiences, pointing to a broader market opportunity in government and institutional contracts. While cultural projects may have unclear monetization paths and heavier AI use in games could attract regulatory attention, the launch showcases Tencent's AI capabilities and may support future contracts in education, tourism, and smart city projects. Investors will watch for distribution across channels like WeChat Mini Programs and whether similar heritage projects follow, as signs of repeat use would suggest the technology is finding commercial traction.
Meta adds Xbox Game Pass starter to Horizon+ subscription
Meta Platforms is adding the Xbox Game Pass starter edition to its Meta Horizon+ subscription service, expanding gaming on Quest virtual reality headsets. The move deepens Meta's partnership with Microsoft's Xbox and gives Horizon+ subscribers access to more than 50 Game Pass titles alongside the existing catalog of more than 100 virtual reality games available through the service. Horizon+ customers will also get 10 hours of cloud gaming per month, with featured titles including Fallout 4, Fallout 76, Grounded, DayZ and Overcooked 2. Meta said it will roll out a gamepad emulator in the coming weeks, allowing Quest Touch controllers to function like an Xbox controller.
META · Demand · Positive Meta adds Xbox Game Pass to Horizon+ subscription, boosting value for Quest users and likely driving demand for headsets and subscriptions.
MSFT · Demand · Positive Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass is included in Meta's Horizon+ subscription, expanding reach of Game Pass to Quest users.
Alliance for OpenUSD adds ByteDance, Huawei, Physicl, and Unity as members and begins ISO certification for Core Specification 1.1
The Alliance for OpenUSD has added ByteDance, Huawei, Physicl, and Unity as General Members, expanding its reach into gaming, consumer XR platforms, and large-scale enterprise digital transformation. The organization has also begun the ISO certification process for Core Specification 1.1, the first step toward international standardization, and launched a GitHub repository to give developers direct input into the specification's evolution. OpenUSD is emerging as the 3D data layer for agentic AI workflows, with early implementations from Cesium, PTC, and NVIDIA demonstrating how AI agents can understand, navigate, and modify 3D environments built on the Core Specification. AOUSD and member companies including Pixar, NVIDIA, Autodesk, and Epic Games will present sessions at SIGGRAPH 2026 in Los Angeles from July 19 to 23.
Virtuix Omni One wins 2026 Auggie Award for Best Interaction Product
Virtuix Holdings announced that its Omni One platform has received the 2026 Auggie Award for Best Interaction Product at Augmented World Expo, the XR industry’s highest honor, as part of a humanoid robot teleoperation system developed by the University of Central Florida. The award marks Virtuix’s second consecutive win in the category, following Omni One’s 2025 victory, and highlights the platform’s expanding role in robot teleoperation and physical AI training. The recognized project, “Being there without being there,” allows operators to walk naturally on the Omni One omni-directional treadmill while controlling a humanoid robot in real time, demonstrating how full-body locomotion can improve human-robot interaction. Virtuix also recently partnered with 1HMX to develop the Nexus NX1, a full-body humanoid robot control system combining the Omni One Enterprise treadmill with HaptX Gloves G1. The company believes Omni One is uniquely positioned to support both teleoperation and the collection of human movement data for training autonomous robot behaviors.
Robotics & Physical AI › Humanoid Robots Technology
Robotics & Physical AI › Robotics AI & Embodiment Software Technology
VTIX · Technology · Positive Omni One wins Auggie Award for Best Interaction Product, highlighting its role in robot teleoperation and physical AI training.
1HMX · Technology · Positive Virtuix partnered with 1HMX to develop the Nexus NX1 humanoid robot control system, indicating collaboration and product development.
HaptX Inc. · Technology · Positive HaptX Gloves G1 are part of the Nexus NX1 system developed with Virtuix, showcasing their technology's integration.
NVIDIA Adds Omniverse Libraries to Agent Toolkit for Simulation-Ready 3D Content
NVIDIA announced that its Agent Toolkit now includes Omniverse libraries, a collection of software components that give AI agents tools to add physical AI capabilities to existing applications and prepare 3D content for simulation. The new libraries—ovrtx for RTX sensor simulation, ovphysx for GPU-accelerated physics, and CAD-to-SimReady skills for converting CAD data into simulation-ready assets—are openly available on GitHub. Software makers including SideFX and PTC are integrating these libraries into their 3D applications, with support for cloud and local AI systems ranging from NVIDIA RTX Spark to NVIDIA DGX Station. A new blueprint for integrating Omniverse libraries in Blender is also available, demonstrating how agent-ready simulation capabilities can be added to existing 3D tools while keeping creators in control.
Volumetric Video Market Projected to Reach USD 7.01 Billion by 2032
The global volumetric video market is projected to reach USD 7.01 billion by 2032, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 13.27 percent from an estimated USD 3.21 billion in 2026. Artificial intelligence is accelerating volumetric video capture, reconstruction, editing, compression and delivery, while integration with game engines, cloud rendering, edge processing and 5G networks is broadening access. North America remains a major innovation center, Asia-Pacific is highly active with China, Japan, South Korea, India and Australia benefiting from 5G investment and gaming growth, and Europe is progressing through virtual production and cultural heritage digitization. Organizations are advised to prioritize applications that deliver measurable improvements in engagement, training retention or operational performance, and to establish governance for biometric data, consent and synthetic media transparency. The market is shifting from specialized studio experimentation toward scalable and integrated production, with the strongest opportunities emerging where realism, presence and interactivity create clear advantages in entertainment, sports, healthcare, education, retail and industrial training.
Global Virtual Reality Market Forecast to Reach $488.49 Billion by 2035
The global virtual reality market is projected to grow from USD 33.72 billion to USD 488.49 billion by 2035, a compound annual growth rate of 27.511%, according to a new report from ResearchAndMarkets.com. Growth is driven by advances in hardware and software, wider availability of immersive content, declining device costs, and increasing adoption across consumer and enterprise applications. Gaming and entertainment remain major contributors, while enterprise use cases are expanding in healthcare, education, aerospace and defense, automotive, manufacturing, retail, and industrial training. Artificial intelligence and 5G connectivity are expected to accelerate development of responsive, real-time virtual environments. North America currently holds the largest market share, with Asia expected to record substantial growth through 2035, led by China's role as a major manufacturer and distributor of head-mounted VR devices.
META · Demand · Positive Meta is a leading VR headset maker (Quest series); market growth directly boosts demand for its hardware and software.
MSFT · Demand · Positive Microsoft's HoloLens and enterprise VR solutions (e.g., in healthcare, manufacturing) stand to benefit from expanding enterprise adoption.
NVDA · Demand · Positive NVIDIA's GPUs and VR-ready platforms are essential for VR rendering; market growth increases demand for its chips.
United States
