Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, September 9, 2025, the XR Association (XRA) and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) co-hosted the fifth annual AR/VR Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. The full-day, hybrid event brought together innovators, policymakers, and industry leaders to discuss the responsible advancement of XR technology and try out the equipment for themselves
This year’s policy conference featured multiple panels and lightning talks from key XR industry representatives highlighting immersive technologies’ impact across sectors and their policy considerations. Pressing topics in the AR, VR and MR space, including nurturing the global immersive tech ecosystem, military & defense considerations, cryptocurrency, wearable AI and intelligent virtual characters, were discussed.
ITIF’s President, Daniel Castro, shared his opening remarks to kick off the day, followed by a keynote address from Rep. Kat Cammack (FL-03). During her keynote address, Rep. Cammack reiterated the necessity to invest and innovate in XR to ensure the U.S. remains competitively ahead of other nations. Rep. Commack also spoke on her goal to break down regulatory barriers so that small businesses and startups can utilize digital twins to improve a variety of sectors, specifically education, agriculture and healthcare. She concluded her address by expressing her excitement to lead the Republican Studies Committee’s Emerging Tech Task Force.
Other keynotes included Rep. Miller Meeks (IA-02), who stopped by mid-morning to share why she believes a “human touch” is a critical factor to consider when legislating emerging technologies like AR, VR and MR. Rep. Ted Lieu (CA-36), a member of the House Reality Caucus, also joined the conference for a fireside chat with ITIF’s Daniel Castro, where the two discussed the different approaches taken between the European Union and the United States in AI regulation.
The event also featured three lightning talks from prominent XRA member companies exploring how XR is achieving mainstream adoption. Qualcomm’s Sahil Bansal gave an overview of the state of the XR ecosystem while Matt Chaussee, CEO of CareerView XR, gave his talk on how he and his wife, Katie, started a national edtech platform. XR company, Codazen’s President, Mike Merchant, also spoke and gave a presentation on how the immersive web and spatial intelligence are transforming how people search, buy and explore.
As immersive technology becomes a fundamental tool utilized across industry sectors including manufacturing, urban planning, national defense and healthcare, the U.S.’s leadership in this space increasingly depends on policies and systems that support innovation, industry growth and technology adoption. Throughout the day, panelists discussed recommendations for policymakers, and ways industry, policy and end-users can work together to address the risks and use cases for XR.
Additionally, attendees were able to try out real-world demonstrations of XR technology from a variety of XRA member companies, including Qualcomm, MediView, CareerView XR, Meta, Virtualware, and Transfr.
You can watch the full live stream of panels and discussions for the conference here on Youtube.
