Thank you for an amazing 2025 event.

  • See the conference recap on Forbes.

  • EXPERIENTIAL 2026 will take place at MIT on January 23-24, 2026. Contact us for programming and sponsorship inquiries.

Interested in who spoke and who sponsored EXPERIENTIAL 2025?
Scroll on.

January 25, 2025

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

MEDIA SPONSOR

INDUSTRY SPONSOR

REALITY HACK STARTUPS-IN-RESIDENCE

PARTNERS

LAB COLLABS

2025 TECHNOLOGY THEME

  • EXPERIENTIAL Now and Soon: What technologies are EXPERIENTIAL, now and in the near term? What are they, and what potential and implications do they have for creating new kinds of technology-enabled human experience? How is this technology currently being enabled by other institutions for world development?

  • How to Foster Innovation. One core hypothesis behind the Reality Hack mission is that forms of technology development leave gaps in what problems are solved and who is served by new technologies. 

    What relevant methods and mechanisms have previously been proven successful for shepherding innovation? From enabling would-be innovators–with skills, self-efficacy, and a support network of people and resources–to deploying commercially successful solutions that solve problems and make the world a better place? What new mechanisms might be conceived and implemented?

  • Let’s Hack Reality. Our event has always been about bridging the gap between ideas and action. Our new EXPERIENTIAL conference is no exception: it’s a platform for public-facing discourse and a Call to Action. Other sections of our program cover a survey of technologies and methods for fostering innovation. How can we put these into action in service of Reality Hack’s mission? We invite participants to spring into action by using community, technology, and education to hack our way to a better world for everyone.

PROGRAM STRUCTURE

2025 SESSIONS

3pm Green Bldg. [2nd ANNUAL REALITY FORUM]
Hacking Reality: Global Initiatives in Experiential Technology for a Sustainable Future

  • Ziad Asghar

    QUALCOMM

    Senior Vice President & GM, XR

    KEYNOTE SPEAKER

  • Ken Zolot

    MIT

    Senior Lecturer in Brain and Cognitive Sciences

    Senior Lecturer in Innovation and Entrepreneurship

    MODERATOR

  • Anusha Dandapandi

    UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL COMPUTING CENTRE

    Chief Data & AI Services Officer

  • Alvin Graylin

    HTC

    Global VP

    OUR NEXT REALITY

    Bestselling Author

    VIRTUAL WORLD SOCIETY

    Chairman

  • Kiran Vinod Bhatia

    INCLUSIVE AI LAB

    Research Lead

  • Jimmy Vainstein

    WORLD BANK GROUP

    Interactive Media Sr. Program Manager

9:30 Salon I.
Opening Kickoff / State of the Industry

  • Anshel Sag

    MOOR INSIGHTS & STRATEGY

    Principal Analyst

  • Tim Bajarin

    CREATIVE STRATEGIES

    President

10:35 Salon M.
Little Hands, Big Worlds: XR for Kids at the Yale Center for Immersive Technologies in Pediatrics

  • Asher Marks, MD

    YALE UNIVERSITY

    Associate Professor of Pediatrics

    Yale Center for Immersive Technologies in Pediatrics

    Co-Director

  • Kimberly Hieftje, PhD

    YALE UNIVERSITY

    Associate Professor of Pediatrics

    Yale Center for Immersive Technologies in Pediatrics

    Co-Director

10:35 Salon T.
Startup Talk: Haptikos Product Launch

11:20 Salon M.
From Cockpits to the Cosmos: How Extended Reality Is Shaping Aerospace Innovations

  • Joe Rolfe

    BAE SYSTEMS, INC.

    Head of Visualization Strategies

    MODERATOR

  • Alex Goldberg

    BLUE ORIGIN

    Administrator XR Systems III

  • Mollie Johnson

    MIT AeroAstro

    Engineering Systems Laboratory Researcher

11:20 Salon T.
Startup Talk: Maradin

11:55 Salon M.
Our Neuroadaptive Future

  • Joseph Artuso

    OPEN BCI (Galea)

    President & Chief Commercial Officer

11:55 Salon T.
Startup Talk: Hyperspeak by Meta Intelligence

12:20 Salon M.
The Power of Play: Experiential Technology as a Catalyst for Learning and Co-Creation

  • Kelly McNeil

    DIGITAL PROMISE

    Sr. Learning Experience Designer

  • Scott Greenwald

    MIT Reality Hack

    Board Chair

  • Mollie Johnson

    MIT AeroAstro

    Engineering Systems Laboratory Researcher

  • Rafiq Abdus-Sabur

    HXROIC

    Founder & CEO

  • Kachina Studer

    MIT

    XR & Virtual Production Lead, LEAP

12:20 Salon T.
Unblocking the future of VR: What’s holding us back?

  • Haseeb Musa

    META REALITY LABS

    Business Strategist

    MODERATOR

  • Anuj Gosalia

    OpenAI

    Inference Engineering Manager

  • Ziad Asghar

    QUALCOMM

    Senior Vice President & GM, XR

  • Jesse Joudrey

    VR CHAT

    CTO

  • Bert Nepveu

    TRIPTYQ CAPITAL


    Geek-in-Chief

  • DJ Manny FlyiSo

    ROYALTY RADIO MEDIA

    Founder

  • Tipatat Chennavasin

    THE VENTURE REALITY FUND

    Co-founder

1:15 Salon M.
Designers Lead, AI Follows: Creating Harmonious and Innovative Human-Machine-Centered Experiences at Scale

  • Dominik Heinrich

    THE COCA-COLA COMPANY

    Global Head of AI Design

    CREATIVE AI ACADEMY

    Co-Founder & Partner

  • Tony Jones

    PRATT INSTITUTE

    Instructor of AI Design

    CREATIVE AI ACADEMY

    Co-Founder & Partner

1:15 Salon T.
The New Media Ecosystem: Experiential Technology & Creator Culture

  • Fadi Radi

    blinx

    Chief Creative Officer

  • David De Cristofaro

    THE CURRENT SEA

    Innovation & Fan Experience

Hosts and MC

  • EXPERIENTIAL Host

    Dan Cui

    AR PIONEER

    SHILOH STRATEGIC MARKETING

    CEO

  • Rising Stars Host

    Robert Hughes III

    CITIZENS PRIVATE BANK

    Managing Director

OFFICIAL CONFERENCE RECEPTION

January 25, 2025 (7-10PM)

 314 Main St. Cambridge, MA 02142 Accessibility

What to Expect Startup Showcase . Live Music . Dessert . Signature Mocktails . Cash Bar

Exhibit your company in the Startup Showcase:

Contact

Due to limited capacity, attendance is firmly restricted to EXPERIENTIAL Innovation Conference ticket holders. These include:

  • Reception-Only Tickets ($150)

  • Full-Day Attendees ($550) and presenters

  • Press Badges

  • Startups-in-Residence ($3,000)

  • Rising Stars Startups ($550)

  • Conference Sponsors and qualifying MIT Reality Hack Sponsors with registered conference ticket

All proceeds directly support operating expenses for these volunteer-run events, including MIT Reality Hack (which enfolds the Startup Hack and the Hardware Hack) and the EXPERIENTIAL Innovation Conference.
You are not only supporting the experiential technology ecosystem, but you are helping us to keep participation in MIT Reality Hack free for hackers from all backgrounds.

Questions? Contact team@mitrealityhack.com

EXPERIENTIAL Conference Group

  • Maria Rice

    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MIT REALITY HACK

  • Mehek Gosalia

    DIRECTOR OF DESIGN and LOGISTICS, MIT REALITY HACK

  • Celso Reed

    OPERATIONS STRATEGY MANAGER

  • Scott Greenwald, PhD

    CHAIR, REALITY HACK BOARD of DIRECTORS

  • Mary Anne Powers, CSM

    SPONSOR RELATIONS, MIT REALITY HACK

  • Jonathan Hirshon

    PR COUNSEL, HORIZON COMMUNICATIONS

What is MIT Reality Hack?

2025 Hackathon:

January 23-27, 2025

MIT Reality Hack is an annual phenomenon that coalesces thought leaders, brand mentors, engineers, designers, and entrepreneurs around experiential technology: participants of diverse backgrounds attend from all over the world to form new teams and hack out working software and hardware prototypes, resulting in novel integrations and content developed for XR devices and platforms. Participants also explore the uncharted realms of deep tech, making inventive use cases for cutting edge hardware and AI enablers.

It is held at MIT in Cambridge, MA co-hosted by a team of community volunteers (alumni, friends, and others) with the Reality Hack Organization 501(c)3 and VR/AR@MIT. We all share a common goal: educate, empower and enable people to be part of the experiential technology industries. We invite participants to spring into action through technology education with a shared intention to build a more sustainable and equitable world for everyone.