Augmented reality (AR) has rapidly emerged as one of the most transformational technologies of the 21st century. By overlaying digital content onto the real world, AR has the power to profoundly change how we interact with information and our environment.
Major tech companies and startups alike see the massive potential in AR applications across gaming, healthcare, engineering, architecture and more. As a result, investment into AR hardware and software has exploded in recent years.
In this article, we dive into the 10 largest AR companies in terms of revenue, funding and market reach. For each company profiled, we explore their background, key AR products and services, revenue details, and future goals for AR adoption.
1. Apple
As the world‘s most valuable company, Apple has virtually limitless resources to devote to future-forward technologies like augmented reality. Given CEO Tim Cook‘s comments that AR could be as significant as the iPhone, it‘s no surprise Apple is charging full speed ahead into the space.
Company Profile
Apple‘s AR strategy revolves around vertically integrating hardware, software and services to provide the best possible AR experience for users across its ecosystem of devices.
On the hardware front, Apple has developed a range of sensors, cameras and processing chips specially designed to power AR experiences. For software, ARKit allows developers to easily build AR apps for iOS devices. Guides like AR Quick Look make it simple to view and interact with AR objects.
Apple has also made strides on the services side with offerings like AR city tours of select destinations in its Maps app. There is speculation Apple may be preparing to release a combined VR/AR headset as early as 2023.
Headquarters: Cupertino, CA
Founded: 1976
CEO: Tim Cook
Revenue: $365 billion (2021)
Employees: 154,000
2. Google
As consumers spend more time engaging with digital content, Google is focused on integrating helpful AR experiences into its core products.
Company Profile
Google‘s AR efforts include both hardware and software projects that aim to bridge digital information with the physical world. Some examples include:
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ARCore: Google‘s AR developer platform with features for motion tracking, environmental understanding and light estimation.
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Live View AR Directions: Uses phone cameras for visually guided walking directions overlaid onto real streets.
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Starline: Telepresence booths that allow life-size 3D video chats augmented in real-time.
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Project Starshot: Uses AR/VR to envision potential exoplanet discoveries with NASA.
Google believes AR can expand many of its existing services into more assistive and immersive experiences. It continues investing heavily in core AR capabilities like graphics, computer vision, displays and depth sensing.
Headquarters: Mountain View, CA
Founded: 1998
CEO: Sundar Pichai
Revenue: $257 billion (2021)
Employees:~135,000
3. Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios has been at the forefront of computer graphics and visual effects innovation since its inception. Today, Pixar continues that tradition through groundbreaking AR research and development.
Company Profile
While best known for beloved animated films like Toy Story, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles, Pixar has quietly built an AR/VR powerhouse in recent years.
The company‘s Pixar Studio Labs is actively publishing papers and open sourcing technologies around problems like real-time 3D facial modeling and point cloud generation. Much of this research feeds directly into Pixar‘s core storytelling tools.
On the entertainment side, Pixar is creating novel AR experiences in conjunction with Disney. For example, the Playground AR app allows kids to interact with popular Pixar characters like Woody and Buzz Lightyear.
As an animation pioneer with over three decades of VR/AR progress, Pixar is sure to produce more magical innovations blending digital content with reality.
Headquarters: Emeryville, CA
Founded: 1986
President: Jim Morris
Revenue: $2.5 billion (2021)
Employees: ~1,600
4. Nvidia
Nvidia is renowned as one of the leading developers of high-performance GPUs and gaming chips. But the company is also making big waves in applying its hardware to next-generation AR experiences.
Company Profile
Nvidia‘s core technology powers some of the most immersive AR environments today. For example, the record-breaking Hyperion display system uses 36 Nvidia DGX A100 systems to achieve interactive ray-tracing.
On the consumer front, Nvidia‘s GeForce RTX graphics cards enable gaming PCs to handle demanding VR and AR workloads. This allows real-time rendered graphics and physics not possible on standard setups.
Nvidia also unveiled its new Omniverse platform in 2020. Omniverse provides advanced simulation and collaboration tools tailored for 3D workflows in AR/VR.
With over 25 years of graphics innovation, Nvidia has firmly established itself as an indispensable force in building next-gen AR hardware.
Headquarters: Santa Clara, CA
Founded: 1993
CEO: Jensen Huang
Revenue: $26.9 billion (2021)
Employees: ~22,500
5. Snap Inc.
Snap Inc. has emerged as one of the most prolific mobile AR creators through its popular Snapchat app. The company sees its camera and AR capabilities as the future of reinventing social media.
Company Profile
Snapchat is renowned for its unique AR lenses that analyze facial data to overlay animated masks, objects and effects. This library of lenses keeps young users continually engaged with "trying on" new identities.
Beyond lenses, Snapchat‘s World Lenses allow anchoring AR sculptures, games and portals based on location. Advertisers can pay Snap to create sponsored AR lenses tied to specific campaigns.
Snap Inc. is also making investments into AR hardware with the launch of video-enabled Spectacles glasses. While still in prototype stages, Spectacles demonstrate Snap‘s commitment to transitioning AR from phones to wearable devices.
With over 250 million daily active users on Snapchat, Snap Inc. has an enormous platform to introduce consumers to augmented reality.
Headquarters: Santa Monica, CA
Founded: 2011
CEO: Evan Spiegel
Revenue: $4.1 billion (2021)
Employees: ~6,500
6. Niantic
Niantic rose to mainstream prominence through its revolutionary 2016 game Pokémon GO. But as an AR specialist studio, Niantic aims to catalyze a broader consumer shift towards interacting with digital content mapped to the physical world.
Company Profile
In contrast to virtual reality‘s complete digital immersion, Niantic champions blending digital spaces with outside environments. Their games encourage exploring neighborhoods, landmarks and cities to accomplish objectives.
Niantic refers to this concept of real-world interaction as the "Real-World Metaverse." Their Lightship ARDK also allows other developers to build mobile AR apps mapped to real locations.
Alongside gaming experiences like Pokémon GO and Pikmin Bloom, Niantic is also developing AR apps with qualitative purpose. These include apps for discovering city history, exercise motivation and meeting neighbourhood communities.
As consumers realize AR‘s potential beyond gaming, Niantic intends to spearhead those possibilities in more practical directions.
Headquarters: San Francisco, CA
Founded: 2010
CEO: John Hanke
Revenue: ~$1 billion (estimated)
Employees: ~500
7. SightCall
SightCall offers an AI-powered augmented reality platform designed to assist field service teams with maintenance, repair and operation tasks. Their AR solution delivers live guidance to technicians working in remote environments.
Company Profile
SightCall‘s software uses data visualization, machine learning and computer vision algorithms to enhance field technician capabilities.
The company‘s AR interface accurately registers and overlays technical guidance onto equipment in the visual feed. This allows remote experts to provide augmented step-by-step instructions adapted to each unique job.
By keeping hands free to complete service tasks, SightCall increases worker productivity and operational efficiency. Companies leveraging SightCall‘s AR-powered workforce solution include pharmaceutical giant J&J, aircraft manufacturer Boeing and consumer bellwether P&G.
As demand grows for skilled technicians managing complex equipment, SightCall‘s AR platform scales expert guidance to meet global service workforce challenges.
Headquarters: San Francisco, CA
Founded: 2007
CEO: Thomas Cottereau
Revenue: $100+ million (estimated)
Employees: ~350
8. Applied VR
AppliedVR brings together clinical researchers, psychologists and AR technologists to pioneer virtual reality treatments for pain management.
Company Profile
The startup‘s flagship product is EaseVRx – an FDA-cleared VR module that uses cognitive behavioral therapy techniques to aid patients with chronic lower back and fibromyalgia pain.
Clinical trials displayed EaseVRx VR reduced pain by 60% on average compared to standard pharmaceutical interventions. Beyond pain relief, participants also benefit from reduced anxiety, improved sleep quality and renewed engagement with occupational activities.
By leveraging VR‘s total immersion capabilities combined with evidence-based behavioral approaches, EaseVRx empowers patients to alter learned pain responses. The module is now widely accessed through partnerships with health providers like Genesis Rehab Services and Wake Forest Baptist Health Network.
As VR capabilities expand alongside insurance coverage, AppliedVR aims to extend virtual therapeutic treatment to other conditions like traumatic injury rehabilitation.
Headquarters: San Francisco, CA
Founded: 2013
CEO: Matthew Stoudt
Revenue: ~$10 million
Employees: 35
9. Avegant
Avegant is an AR display company harnessing next-generation light field technology to solve major barriers facing augmented reality headsets.
Company Profile
Some key problems Avegant looks to overcome include bulky hardware, vergence accommodation conflict, limited field of view and motion sickness.
Unlike traditional AR displays using LED screens, Avegant has developed micromirror devices that reflect millions of points of light to form crisp, smooth images without pixilation. This advanced optical engineering drastically shrinks traditional AR headset size and weight.
Avegant is currently licensing its impressive augmented reality light engine to major tech partners for integration into future AR glasses and other video display devices. Realistic retail applications are imminent as the company solves complex obstacles obstructing consumer AR adoption.
Backed by influential VC firms like KPCB Edge and Intel Capital, Avegant continues concentrating exceptional engineering talent on unlocking the next generation of AR wearables.
Headquarters: Belmont, CA
Founded: 2012
CEO: Edward Tang
Revenue: ~$10 million
Employees: ~45
10. 3dar
3dar is an Academy Award-winning immersive content studio pioneering the language of augmented reality storytelling. Their work dazzles with technical wizardry while prioritizing meaningful narratives.
Company Profile
Leadership consists of alumni from acclaimed animation studios like Nickelodeon, Disney and DreamWorks. These talents merge both digital and practical filmmaking knowledge to educate audiences on emerging AR capabilities.
3dar‘s acclaimed AR shoots have covered Kubrick tributes, invasive biotechnology, Mayan legends and beyond. International campaigns were produced for Coca Cola, Les Mills and The North Face. Recent VR projects have explored vital contemporary issues like vaccine hesitancy.
While the company creates stunning visual spectacle with AR illusions, virtual production integration and volumetric light stages, stories capture profundity beyond technical flair. 3dar remembers the most compelling magic transports both heart and mind.
As more creators notice AR‘s artistic potential, 3dar shines bright on the cutting edge conjuring our imaginations into augmented worlds.
Headquarters: Los Angeles, CA
Founded: 2017
CEO: Zach Richter
Revenue: ~$5 million
Employees: 21
Conclusion
Augmented reality adoption is accelerating as costs lower and capabilities rise. But more importantly, creative thinkers are finding ways to build AR technologies focused on real utility. From conceptual artists to medical researchers, augmented reality is empowering innovations that seamlessly blend digital enhancements with practical needs.
The companies profiled above give just a small glimpse into how AR is transforming industries from top to bottom. As underlying hardware matures and expands in the 2020s, we can expect augmented reality to permeate most sectors the way mobile phones did over the past 20 years.
But this time, we are better prepared to guide the progress responsibly – building AR technologies centered firmly around elevating human experiences beyond mere novelty. If inventors continue this path, the approaching age of spatial computing looks brighter than ever.
