The AWE Asia 2024 conference, held in Singapore from August 26th to 28th, brought together XR industry leaders, technology enthusiasts, and innovators. This year, we were thrilled to welcome a global community of 1,000+ attendees, speakers, and exhibitors across 34 countries & regions. The event provided attendees with a platform for knowledge sharing, networking, and showcasing the latest advancements in spatial computing technologies.
Event Summary
The event featured an impressive lineup of speakers across three content stages and nine content tracks.
A noteworthy mention goes out to the AWE Asia Auggie Awards, which celebrated the best in AR and VR on display. Niantic won Best in Show, AR for their Scaniverse 4 app, Tokyo Dome won Best in Show, VR, and The Awesome Award was given to XPANCEO, for their smart AR contact lenses.
This year’s opening reception was on August 26th, the evening before conference sessions and the expo hall kicked off, allowing industry enthusiasts to network and foster connections. Attendees and exhibitors were encouraged to download the Whova app to access notifications, event updates, keep track of sessions, and connect with one another.
This year, we also introduced the AWE Asia Playground, our very own AR+VR experience center featuring jaw-dropping, highly immersive and interactive demos. All experiences are either a premiere, launch or an exclusive creation for the AWE Asia Playground and will offer an experience that leverages working technology in an engaging, fun and exciting fashion that is ready for high throughput. We are thrilled to expand this going into 2025.
Attendee Demographics
The geographical distribution of attendees at AWE Asia 2024 reinforces the growing significance of Asia, particularly Singapore and China, as a global hub for XR innovation. Singapore alone accounted for nearly 45% of attendees, underscoring its role as a central player in the XR ecosystem. With a combined 44.8% of attendees from China, Japan, India, and Southeast Asia, the data reflects the rapid growth of XR adoption across these regions. North America (USA: 8.3%) and Europe (EU: 3.3%, UK: 1.4%) were also represented, though to a lesser extent, establishing continued interest in XR across Asia.
This distribution suggests that companies looking to expand or establish partnerships should prioritize the Asian market, which is not only leading innovation, but also providing immense opportunity for investment and market entry.
Company Representation
The attendee data paints a diverse picture of the XR industry, with academia and research institutions making up nearly 20% of attendees. This significant representation from educational sectors highlights the academic interest in XR technologies, pushing boundaries in research, development, and knowledge sharing. Enterprises providing XR solutions (13.2%) and users of these solutions (11.8%) were also strongly represented, showcasing the technology’s growing adoption across various industries.
Government users of XR solutions accounted for 10.5% of attendees, suggesting an increased focus on leveraging immersive technologies for public services and governance, which could lead to policy development and funding for XR initiatives. Developers and content studios (14.5%) remain pivotal in shaping the XR experience, reinforcing the importance of creative and technical talent in the ecosystem.
Seniority Levels and Job Functions
The seniority levels of the attendees reflect a balanced mix of leadership and operational roles, with C-level executives and founders accounting for over 21.5%, and managers comprising 22.6%. This distribution signals strong leadership interest, alongside a focus on practical implementation of XR solutions.
On the functional side, the attendance of engineers (12.5%) and developers (5.6%) indicates that a significant portion of the attendees are involved in the hands-on development of XR technologies. Business and marketing roles (10.8%) also had a notable presence, reflecting a growing emphasis on commercialization, partnerships, and market penetration of spatial computing technologies.
Key Motivations for Attending
A deeper dive into the motives for attending AWE Asia reveals a strong focus on learning and deal-making. An overwhelming 87.67% of attendees expressed an interest in learning about developments in the XR industry, making AWE Asia a crucial platform for knowledge exchange. Not to mention the emphasis on sourcing XR deals and innovative projects (60.67%) highlights AWE Asia as a prime venue for networking and collaboration.
Additionally, the data points to a clear business focus, with 24% attending to introduce XR solutions to enterprise clients, while 22.33% aimed to raise capital for startups and enterprises. These figures suggest a robust ecosystem of investment and commercial opportunities, further emphasizing the role of AWE Asia in driving the XR industry forward.
Future Outlook for the XR Industry
The optimism surrounding the future of the XR industry remains strong, with 31.7% of attendees rating their optimism at 10/10. Additionally, nearly 54% rated their optimism at 9 or 8, indicating that a majority of stakeholders see significant potential for growth in the next two years. Only a small fraction (6.3%) rated their outlook at 6 or below.
Plans for Expansion
When asked about future growth, 85.7% of attendees stated that their companies are planning expansion within the next two years, with 25.4% signaling significant expansion plans. This optimism aligns with the growing demand for XR technologies across sectors such as education, healthcare, retail, and manufacturing. The push for expansion may reflect increasing market confidence and the desire to capitalize on emerging opportunities.
Developer Engagement
Among developers, the data suggests that 47.6% consider it “very important” to engage with platforms and ecosystems for technical and financial support, and 33.3% also find it “important”. This illustrates the need for fostering strong relationships between developers and industry platforms to drive XR innovation.
Conclusion
The data from AWE Asia 2024 reflects an industry that is rapidly growing. With strong representation from enterprise users, government sectors, academia, and key decision-makers, the event has cemented its role as a leading platform for networking, learning, and deal-making in the XR space.
The enthusiasm for XR developments, along with plans for expansion and investment, showcases the industry’s immense growth potential. The attendee data from AWE Asia 2024 highlights key industry trends, including the dominance of Asian markets, strong academic and research interest, and a high level of optimism surrounding the future of XR. The insights gathered from this event reflect not only current market dynamics but also point toward future opportunities, particularly in sectors such as enterprise, government, and education.
Mark your calendars! We’ll be back in Singapore on August 24–26 for AWE Asia 2025.
