Serious Play Conference

For Immediate Release

Dramatic Advances in XR Products for Training, Education, Rollout of 5G in U.S.
Drives Industry Growth, Investment; Market To Boom to $6.7 Billion by 2026
 
 
ORLANDO – March 4, 2021 – Purchases of Extended Reality Learning Products – the integration of simulations, augmented reality (AR), assisted reality, virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR) and biophysical environments producing immersive training and education – are barreling along at a robust 18.1% annually, with revenues expected to more than double to $6.7 billion by 2026, according to a new report from Metaari, the leading analyst firm in the learning technologies market.

The U.S. is the top buying country for learning technologies, accounting for 32.1% of all Extended Reality Learning revenues globally in 2021.

The XR market is being driven by surging demand for products in the corporate, military and healthcare sectors. A new sector with significant growth is travel and tourism, with VR being used to promote locations and tours.

The corporate segment has the highest growth rate at 18.8%. Revenues will surge to $1.8 billion by 2026. Federal government agencies are the second-largest buyers and will begin to reach parity with corporate buyers in the next five years.

“The current XR Learning Market is a lucrative value chain and the revenue opportunities are now quite abundant,” Sam Adkins, principal analyst, Metaari, said. “Investors are jumping in, especially in technology start-ups, where I’m seeing the most innovation.”

Catalysts contributing to the growing demand for XR learning products include:

  • Distinct revenues opportunities, now clearly visible in specific customer sectors
  • The extensive rollout of blazingly fast 5G networks in the US
  • A surge in private investments flowing to startups
  • FDA approvals for healthcare-related products that have validated the market
  • Extraordinary advances in Extended Reality Learning products in the healthcare training and education sector
  • High demand for augmented field force performance support and remote assistance in the industrial verticals
  • Innovations in big data answer engines built in XR
  • The proliferation of online marketplaces selling premade objects and ecosystems
  • The recent emergence of industry standards lowers the barriers-to-entry

The development of next generation XR headsets are also having a dramatic impact on the market. Recent launch of next-generation headsets from Varjo, Canon and Lenovo are targeting enterprise customers.

“Within the next five years, VR/AR training and simulations will have expanded from the highest end use cases to widespread use in the workplace, such as training police officers, firefighters and surgeons,” Timo Toikkanen, CEO, Varjo, recently said. “By 2025, pilots will largely train in immersive environments and the first commercial space mission crews will have also trained with the help of VR/XR before takeoff.”

Metaari’s new 234 page XR report identifies more than 750 XR companies operating in the U.S. to help companies in this sector find domestic distributors and partners and investors identify potential merger and acquisition (M&A) targets.

The report is available for purchase from Serious Play Conference’s research portfolio. Click here for more information https://seriousplayconf.com/xr-report/.

Link to a graphic showing the primary catalysts driving the US 2021-2026 extended reality learning market: https://seriousplayconf.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Figure-5-Primary-Catalysts-Driving-the-US-2021-2026-Extended-Reality-Learning-Market.png

Link to a graphic showing the report front cover: https://seriousplayconf.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Metaari-XR-Report-Cover.png

Media Contact:
Sue Bohle
sue@seriousplayconf.com
310 721 9083