23 May 2025
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Mike Boland
AWE Talks: Investor AMA
AWE USA 2024
Welcome back to AWE Talks, our series that revisits the best AWE conference sessions. With AWE USA 2025 just around the corner, we're getting the juices flowing with the most impactful and evergreen talks of the past year.
We continue the action this week a good-old ask-me-anything (AMA). And what better group for such a format than XR investors? They see a lot from where they sit, and can offer real insights and tactical advice for XR startups.
See the summarized takeaways below, along with the full session video. Stay tuned for more video highlights each week and check out the full library of conference sessions on AWE’s YouTube Channel.
Speakers
Jasper Brand
Maddie Callander
Taylor Hurst
Petri Rajahalme
Speakers
Jasper Brand
Maddie Callander
Taylor Hurst
Petri Rajahalme
Key Takeaways & Analysis
– XR investors learn a lot about the markets they invest in, as it's their job to be well informed.
– This makes them highly credible and worth listening to.
– Beyond broad market analysis, they have good tactical advice for startups seeking funding.
– That includes things like the criteria they look for, and best practices in pitching.
– For example, how should startups pitch themselves, despite XR's relatively small market?
– One answer is to emphasize quality over quantity, in cases where immersiveness is critical.
– At the same time, demonstrating best-of-breed capability can counter small market size.
– That way, when the market grows, you're positioned for a dominant market share.
– You can also hedge on small markets with companion experiences that scale (e.g., web/mobile).
– It's also important to focus on XR's ability to uniquely solve high-value challenges.
– In other words, communicate what it can do that other media and mediums can't do.
– Similarly, focus on native design. Lean into things that make XR unique and can't be ported.
– Though we don't know what XR killer apps will be, history tells us they'll apply native thinking.
– For example, mobile killer apps tapped into unique hardware functions like GPS and camera.
– That translates to XR in utilizing things like gesture control and object permanence.
– Also be realisitic... XR isn't culturally nor technologically ready for all-day experiences.
– So build experiences with those types of limitations in mind: lean into the good and bad of XR.
– It's also important to choose the right investors to pitch. Target those who are already sold on XR.
– This can save you from an uphill battle in convincing them that the technology is opportune.
– But at the same time, make sure they don't have existing investments that conflict them out.
– Also consider fund size. Larger funds have higher standards in terms of investment criteria.
– Investors look at every startup's potential to return the entire fund – a higher bar for bigger funds.
For more color and depth, see the full panel discussion below...
Want more XR insights and multimedia? ARtillery Intelligence offers an indexed and searchable library of XR intelligence known as ARtillery Pro. See more here.
