The most innovative augmented and virtual reality companies of 2026

Augmented and virtual reality companies continue to harness the technology for everything from family entertainment to healthcare and workplace safety. Xreal’s wearable displays offer users new options for integrating AR with workflows and devices, and RayNeo’s ultralight AR glasses deliver AI features and a stunning 43-inch virtual display. AR and VR are even creating innovative forms of entertainment. Cosm has built “shared reality” domes that let spectators immerse themselves in sports and movies as if they were in the stadium or scene, and Immotion’s VR shows bring education and entertainment to a host of zoos and museums. Virtuix takes VR entertainment to the home gym, with a variety of games available to play—and exercise with—on its omnidirectional treadmill hardware.

In the workplace, AR and VR are making employee training and product prototyping safer and more efficient. Squint offers easy creation of practical demos for manufacturing workers, and Loft Dynamics‘ VR simulators expand training options for helicopter and airplane pilots. Dassault Systèmes helps designers and engineers explore even complex industrial products virtually before they assemble costly prototypes. And TechSee’s technology lets internet service providers and customers troubleshoot their Wi-Fi connections using private digital twins of their home networks. Meanwhile, XRHealth is bringing XR-powered physical and behavioral treatments to patients in medical facilities and at home.

1. Cosm

For bringing truly immersive sports and entertainment to venues around the country

Cosm operates immersive “shared reality” venues that, thanks to 87-foot diameters, 12K+ resolution LED domes, and partnerships with major sports leagues and broadcasters, can make fans feel like they’re at the game without making the trek to the stadium, even for championship events. The experience comes complete with high-end sports-bar-style food and drink. But the action isn’t limited to sports: Thanks to a partnership with Warner Bros. Pictures, Cosm also debuted a shared-reality version of the science-fiction film The Matrix last year, in time for its 25th anniversary, and screened a version of the family-friendly classic 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. The screenings included immersive visual elements extending the movies beyond the standard two-dimensional rectangular screen, providing a new incentive for audiences to go to the movies instead of streaming at home. In 2025, Cosm also announced new partnerships with leagues, including WWE and the PGA Tour, as well as new multiyear deals with the NFL, NBA, and Fox Sports. Cosm also began construction on new dome venues in Detroit and Atlanta, adding to the installations the company already operates in Los Angeles and Dallas. A fifth location is slated for Cleveland. By the start of 2025, Cosm had raised more than $300 million at a valuation of more than $1 billion.

2. Loft Dynamics

For employing virtual reality to train the next generation of aircraft pilots

Loft Dynamics builds virtual reality training platforms for aircraft pilots. In April 2025, it announced an investment from and partnership with Alaska Airlines as they build the first hyperrealistic VR simulator for the popular Boeing 737. Loft also began work on a simulator for the Airbus A320 and released the first VR simulator for the Airbus H145, one of the world’s most popular helicopters. A new program with the Los Angeles Police Department, announced in March 2025, enables LAPD pilots to train within a full-scale virtual replica of the Airbus H125 helicopter. Loft announced in September that its H125 simulator has been qualified at the highest level of pilot training devices by the Federal Aviation Administration. In November, Loft also announced plans to develop Apple Vision Pro software for home practice. The company’s technology is used at Marshall University, the first U.S. university to integrate such a platform for aspiring pilots. Loft says its technology costs less than 10% of the hourly cost of physical aircraft for training pilots, while improving trainee safety even in complex emergency maneuvers. This helps address the ongoing shortage of qualified aircraft pilots and high training costs.

3. XRHealth

For harnessing extended reality technology for new forms of healing

More than 1 million therapy sessions have been delivered using XRHealth’s platform. It offers virtual reality sessions to help patients with chronic pain management, physical rehabilitation, and mental health issues including anxiety, PTSD, and ADHD. And in February 2025 following a string of acquisitions, the company announced the acquisition of RealizedCare, specializing in chronic pain and behavioral health. XRHealth’s platform integrated RealizedCare’s services and RealizedCare’s AI-powered triage system that can redirect patients to effective digital treatments or human clinicians as needed. 

In August 2025, XRHealth unveiled version 2.0 of its platform, unifying its therapeutic modules under one software umbrella designed for future extensibility and ease of patient and provider use. The move followed the debut of a new line of durable medical equipment after Medicare approved payments for at-home VR cognitive behavioral therapy devices. In September, it released its XR CareCart, a plug-and-play device designed for use in hospitals and clinics with minimal need for IT setup. And in October, the company, which works with more than 2,000 clinicians around the world, announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs had approved its programs for use in VA clinics or at home.

4. Xreal

For giving users unprecedented control over their augmented reality displays

Augmented reality glasses maker Xreal has sold nearly 700,000 pairs of AR spectacles. And in June 2025, it released its Xreal One Pro AR glasses, a follow-up to December 2024’s Xreal One base line. The Xreal One devices can create a virtual display in conjunction with nearly any device that can provide video over USB-C, from gaming systems to work computing equipment. Its X1 chips allow for spatial anchoring—fixing a virtual screen in a physical place—and extensive control of the virtual screen from the glasses, along with extremely low blur even as users move their heads. An optional Xreal Eye camera, released in mid-2025, allows for even greater control of the virtual screen, which can adjust as users move closer to it or walk around it, thanks to AI features that help enable the seamless adjustments. The camera can also let users take pictures and shoot video with the glasses. In 2026, the company will debut Project Aura, a collaboration with Qualcomm to build a set of optical see-through AR glasses powered by Google’s Android XR software. The eyewear will feature a 70-degree field of view virtual screen, the largest Xreal has delivered.

5. Immotion

For bringing the wonder of nature to museums and zoos through virtual reality

Immotion operates more than 140 seated, theatrical VR installations showcasing such family-friendly fare as animals, including sharks, dinosaurs, and polar bears, at museums, zoos, aquariums, and similar institutions around the world. Having served more than 3 million people in 2025 alone, the company has developed filming technology to create VR movies in difficult but fascinating environments. These have included underwater housings to shoot alongside polar bears, a concealed rock camera to capture migrating herds of animals on the Maasai Mara, and a remote-controlled boat camera to capture crocodiles and hippos upon rivers. The company also developed new postproduction technology enabling smoother transitions, even for movies offering 360 degrees of vision, and audio mixes based on gaze tracking. It also rolled out a new suite of audience tracking systems, designed to let institutions offer programming that best suits their visitors and adjust for seasonality, as well as a set of automated diagnostic tools that helps keep systems up and running. The company also developed three new titles to be shown at partner zoos, aquariums, and museums—including Dinosaur:Evolution, launched in July, and Dolphins of the Reef, which debuted in May—throughout 2025, and developed lesson plans for schools tied to its programming and to local curricular material.

6. RayNeo

For packing a virtual 43-inch display—and lots of AI features—into a pair of ultralight AR glasses

Augmented reality glasses maker RayNeo, which claims a 39% share of the global AR glasses market, launched its RayNeo X3 Pro glasses in May 2025. The device, which RayNeo calls “the world’s lightest mass-produced full-color MicroLED diffraction waveguide AR glasses,” weighs in at just 76 grams (or roughly 2.68 ounces). The company’s partnership with Applied Materials has led to AR glasses that can be worn comfortably to deliver a virtual 43-inch display in all environments, including in direct sunlight.

The device supports augmented reality and artificial intelligence features that help users to do more without pulling out their phones, including near-real-time audio and visual translation of 14 languages, enabling users to read signs or understand conversations. AI can provide information about objects in the real world, create onboard navigation that can show directions overlaid on actual walking paths, and facilitate payments with a mix of spoken commands and glances at payment QR codes. The glasses also feature integrations with the Apple Watch as well as a custom version of the Android operating system that runs apps like Instagram and WhatsApp directly on the glasses.

7. Squint

For using AR to unlock institutional wisdom in manufacturing

Squint’s platform for the manufacturing sector transforms sources of knowledge like manuals and videos into step-by-step instructions and AI assistance; it has been used on the factory floor at clients like PepsiCo, Michelin, and Schneider Electric. Last January, it unveiled AI step verification features, which use computer vision to verify proper procedure execution before errors can compound across processes. The company also released an enhanced AI copilot that can deliver  personalized instructions and guidance for users based on who and even where they are; anyone from a maintenance worker to a factory inspector can get the information they need when they need it.

Squint also enhanced its integrations with Apple’s Siri, making it easier for users to access Squint features without needing to use their hands. Its technology is now deployed at more than 250 factories and used by tens of thousands of manufacturing workers every day. Squint announced a $40 million Series B funding round in August 2025 and plans to expand into areas like energy and logistics and continue enhancing its AI features.

8. Dassault Systèmes

For letting manufacturers explore complex industrial designs in virtual reality

Dassault Systèmes has long been a leading provider of computer-aided design and 3D visualization software for companies building cars, planes, and even drugs. In 2025, the company released 3DLive, an application for the Apple Vision Pro that enables users to visualize and collaborate on complex industrial designs and prototypes in virtual reality, saving the need for some physical prototyping and costly on-site visits. The software uses physics and lighting modeling to accurately represent how objects will look and behave in the real, physical world. Examples include an automotive client that identified a design issue and prevented costly physical rework while cutting prototyping time by 22%. Moreover, an aerospace firm was able to virtually bring together stakeholders from three continents to examine a prototype airplane interior, saving $450,000 in travel costs. The technology also helped a medical technology maker let surgeons virtually try out new surgical instruments, providing feedback before physical prototypes were even constructed. Last year, the company unveiled 3D UNIV+RSES, a system enabling generative AI to work with its ecosystem of 3D virtual twins of real-world designs and products.

9. TechSee

For helping customers and technicians harness AI and AR to fix knotty Wi-Fi issues

In February 2025, customer service technology company TechSee unveiled Connectivity Guru, a tool using computer vision and augmented reality to build a privacy-sensitive digital twin of users’ homes, complete with information about Wi-Fi hot spots, dead zones, and interference sources. The digital twin is constructed using an ordinary smartphone to capture visual information and signal data. This enables field techs and customer service agents at internet providers to diagnose connectivity problems, often without needing to physically visit the customer’s home. Images are stored as anonymized heat maps, with no images of the customer’s home kept on file.

TechSee says its clients like Verizon and AT&T have seen truck rolls cut by more than 20% and first-time fix rates jump by more than 30%, all while customer churn at onboarding decreases and satisfaction scores rise. It’s a significant savings for internet providers, with site visits costing an estimated $200 to $500. Customers can even use the technology themselves, with an AI agent helping to set up their Wi-Fi and address problems. Verizon alone has used TechSee’s technology for more than 3 million calls and 300,000 customer self-installations, and the service provider continues to release enhanced versions of Connectivity Guru software.

10. Virtuix

For giving home gamers a 3D VR workout

At the start of last year, virtual reality company Virtuix began shipping the Omni One, a full-body home game system built around an omnidirectional treadmill system. Wearing virtual reality headsets and sensor-enabled overshoes, players could explore a library that soon grew to 55 games, from action and adventure to sports simulators. The Mark Cuban-backed company has shipped more than $20 million in products and reported that revenue was up 138% year over year in the six months ending in September. In March 2025, Virtuix announced Omni Mission Trainer, a simulator designed for group military training, with an innovation unit of the Air Force already collaborating on evolution of the platform. Work on civilian games has continued as well, with Virtuix debuting Treks in April 2025. The experience allows players to burn real calories while walking through simulated versions of New York City and sites like the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls. The device’s health and weight-loss benefits helped it become eligible for purchase using Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) money, Virtuix announced in September. Last summer, it announced it had raised more than $3 million through an offering to small investors, and Virtuix stock began trading on the Nasdaq exchange in January.

Explore the full 2026 list of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, 720 honorees that are reshaping industries and culture. We’ve selected the companies making the biggest impact across 59 categories, including advertising, applied AI, biotech, retail, sustainability, and more.