I’m pleased to announce that Zappar have been selected as one of the top 10 most innovative businesses in the AR/VR industry. This comes as part of the annual ‘World’s Most Innovative Company’ awards, curated by Fast Company magazine and their esteemed panel of experts.

The awards are highly competitive, attracting thousands of entrants each year, and are designed to celebrate excellence in innovation across a wide range of sectors, including tech, design, gaming and finance (I'm reliably informed!). The awards acknowledge a brand’s capacity for inspiring others and making a tangible impact on their sector, from the world’s biggest corporations who have changed the way we think about an everyday product, to agile SMEs who’ve disrupted the ‘business as usual’ in particularly creative and effective ways.

Our entry focused on our mission to democratize AR for both users and creators alike, showcasing our technology’s capacity to not only surprise and delight but continually inform and instruct as a day-to-day utility and digital discovery channel in the new world of spatial computing.

We were eager to share with the Fast Company panel the wide range of experiences that we’ve been creating and the sheer diversity of the partners we’ve worked with. Whether it’s collaborating with major brands like 7-Eleven, Hasbro, Rovio, Nestle and Shazam for exciting interactive retail, product and packaging activations; showcasing the power of AR to significantly improve retention in a learning and development context via our pioneering ‘Layered’ report; or highlighting the plight of loggerhead turtles in South Africa with Zapbox - all of it is centred around opening up the potential of AR to brands, creatives and their customers alike.

We could not be more delighted to be acknowledged as one of Fast Company's most innovative businesses. It's not happened overnight and is down to the dedication and focus of our team over the last eight years to build the best tools and help grow the sector to truly democratize AR. The irony of being a thoughtful, established and considered AR business in such a fast-moving sector is never lost on us. But then we were always rooting for the tortoise rather than the hare. The potential application for AR as a facilitating technology in our everyday lives is definitely a marathon and not a sprint, as a purposeful utility and not just a one-off marketing campaign.

Of course, our mission is impossible to fulfill without the inspiration, belief and amazing creativity of our wider community. Whether you’re a Zapworks user who’s crafting incredible AR experiences for your audience, a brand partner we’ve had the privilege of collaborating with or someone who’s entrusted our team and toolkit to help you get started on your AR journey - thank you all.

As is always the case with Fast Company’s annual list, we’re in some very esteemed company. So to find out more and to be inspired by the sheer range of inspiring business being lauded this year, head over to the ‘World’s Most Innovative Companies 2019’ site.