This week on the AI/XR Podcast, Charlie, Rony, and Ted welcome Nils Pihl, CEO of Auki Labs, and Caspar Thykier, CEO of Zappar, to discuss a massive retail rollout in of indoor virtual positioning systems in Sweden. In the news, OpenAI’s $12B revenue and projected $125B by 2029 set off fireworks. Rony floats Sam Altman as Tim Cook’s successor. Charlie suggests Apple needs a bold move—like acquiring OpenAI—to recover from Vision Pro’s underperformance and Siri’s years of neglect. Auki Labs' decentralized protocol, PoseMesh, uses scannable QR codes and self-hosted data to guide robots and humans through physical spaces. It's a killer demo: a blind person navigating to a bathroom via an app clip, no headset required. Thank you to our sponsor, Zappar!Don't forget to like, share, and follow for more! Follow us on all socials @ThisWeekInXR!https://linktr.ee/thisweekinxr Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bob Cooney, a leading expert on location-based entertainment and host of the VR Arcade and Attractions Summit, discusses the thrilling rise of portable MR theme parks. He shares insights on how AI technologies are reshaping content creation and the challenges of copyright in the industry. The conversation dives into unique storytelling methods, including a collaborative project inspired by 'Alice in Wonderland.' Cooney also reflects on the evolution of VR experiences and the dynamic landscape of entertainment, showcasing both successes and struggles in the sector.

David Nussbaum, founder and Chairman of Proto, shares insights on revolutionary holographic technology. He delves into its applications in healthcare and corporate training, emphasizing a future home device under $1000. The conversation shifts to the changing landscape of celebrity interactions through holograms, fostering deeper fan connections. Recapping SXSW, Nussbaum and the hosts reflect on its cultural impact and highlight innovative experiences that show the merger of art and technology. Expect exciting developments in immersive communication!

On the opening day of SXSW 2025, the hosts are joined by SXSW Programmers Blake Kammerdiner (XR) and Katie Perera (AI) to get a preview of the conference and exhibition, an annual part of our podcast, which turns 5 in July. In the news, Google's new AI search puts the search giant in competition - with itself; MWC wrap up featured the upcoming Samsung MR headset, which Rony says is so 2020. Lots XR and AI financings this week. Normal ones (under $100M). Thank you to our sponsor, Zappar!Don't forget to like, share, and follow for more! Follow us on all socials @ThisWeekInXR!https://linktr.ee/thisweekinxr Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we welcome Cecilia Shen, CEO of Cybever, an AI-powered 3D creation platform that leverages advanced layout algorithms to enable industries to build professional-grade, production-ready environments for industrial simulations. The Metaverse was in the news this week, with the launch of HTC's Viverse (now we know what they're doing with the $250M they got from Google for their hardware business), Meta created a $50 M investment fund to encourage and reward content creators in Horizon Worlds. Niantic is making a digital twin of the physical world. Cecilia Shen began her work in robotics when she was 15. She later joined Google X, the tech giant's incubator, where she began working increasingly with computer vision and generative AI. Cybever generates extensive libraries of 3D environments that are both diverse and customizable to specific training requirements.Thank you to our sponsor, Zappar!Don't forget to like, share, and follow for more! Follow us on all socials @ThisWeekInXR!https://linktr.ee/thisweekinxr Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Naeem Talukdar, CEO of Moonvalley AI and a veteran of DeepMind and OpenAI, as he dives into the creation of a revolutionary 'clean' generative video model. He discusses the impact of licensed content on AI in filmmaking and how it can transform high-definition CGI pipelines. The conversation also touches on Niantic selling its Pokémon Go business and the complexities of intellectual property in XR. Plus, Talukdar sheds light on the importance of balancing data quality with innovation in the ever-evolving landscape of generative video technology.

Our guest this week is Ann Hand, CEO of Super League, a brand agency specializing in game platforms like Roblox and Fortnite. The news this week starts with an ironic twist: first people who are losing jobs to AI are people who work in tech. Also, tech's super bowl commercials barely made a sound. Super League started as a platform for eSports marketing but Ann Hand has guided it to become one of the leading brand marketers in spatial computing, otherwise referred to as The Metaverse. Users are spending more and more of their time on these platforms. The company recently announced it was being acquired by Infinite Reality, which has raised over $3 Billion, Thank you to our sponsor, Zappar!Don't forget to like, share, and follow for more! Follow us on all socials @ThisWeekInXR!https://linktr.ee/thisweekinxr Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charlie, Ted, and Rony welcome Sean Mann, CEO of RP1, whose Metaverse browser can support hundreds of thousands of unique users in a spatial environment. It's earning week in the tech world and the outlook for 2025, after two years of hypergrowth, is downright conservative. Love for Meta's money printing machine continued, despite continued losses on its Metaverse ambitions. Apple's discontinuing AR glasses. Or are they? And Alexa is back. Using RP1's browser, users can share spatial environments, including 1:1 maps of the physical world, on any browser, including VR. Charlie says the MR demo of RP1 that he showed him on Thursday was the most like the mixed reality described in "Snow Crash" he has ever seen. Thank you to our sponsor, Zappar!Don't forget to like, share, and follow for more! Follow us on all socials @ThisWeekInXR!https://linktr.ee/thisweekinxr Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charlie, Rony & Ted are guestless today. It happens. It was a busy news week. First up, Deepseek. Their model may have been trained on OpenAI. Stealing from the thieves, he called it. Big financing deals we announced this week: Softbank is investing $500 M in Skild Robotics, and Eleven Labs (AI Voices) raised $250 M. Marcus Brownlee takes the new Samsung MR headset for a test drive on YouTube. The copyright office released guidance for AI generated content, offering it protection under the law provided a human is using AI as a tool, not an author. The Gulf of Mexico will be renamed on Google Maps. What about New Mexico? Thank you to our sponsor, Zappar!Don't forget to like, share, and follow for more! Follow us on all socials @ThisWeekInXR!https://linktr.ee/thisweekinxr Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Elizabeth Baron, Senior Advisor at UNMC iEXCEL and former Global Lead of Immersive Reality at Ford, discusses the innovative merger of automotive simulation and healthcare. She shares insights on how AI-based Digital Twins transform medical training and reduce errors. The conversation dives into the impact of immersive technology on patient outcomes and the significance of interdisciplinary collaboration. Baron reflects on her journey from revolutionizing car design to enhancing immersive healthcare experiences, showcasing the power of advanced simulations.