Hey Exponential Growers,

Lately, I keep seeing the new Google Gemini commercial. It got me thinking. Every few years, a new device changes not just how we use technology, but how we see the world.

We’ve gone from desktop screens to smartphones… and now I think we’re heading into the era of wearable vision.

From Snapchat’s latest Spectacles and Meta’s new Ray-Ban smart glasses, to Apple’s push into AR, this wave is getting real.

I think this is one of those moments when hardware evolution meets human behavior, and the lines between digital and physical life start to blur.

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Twitch CEO Dan Clancy on Social Media, Content Moderation and AI | The CEO Series

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The Trend: Screens to Spectacles

The global Augmented Reality (AR) market hit $83.6 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $599.6 billion by 2030, a 38% CAGR.

Hardware shipments (AR/VR headsets and smart glasses) are expected to grow 39.2% in 2025, topping 14 million units.

There are now more than 1.4 billion active AR devices worldwide.

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Big Players, Big Bets

• Google Gemini / Android XR — After years of false starts, Google’s latest move signals a return to immersive computing.

• Snapchat Spectacles (Gen 5) — Lightweight, full AR capabilities, gesture-controlled.

• Meta + Ray-Ban Glasses — Dual-camera design, AI voice assistant, and integration with Instagram.

• Apple Vision + ARKit — Building an ecosystem that could make AR mainstream overnight.

When these players align, adoption curves bend fast. Remember what happened when smartphones became cameras, GPS, and wallets? The same will happen when glasses become screens, lenses, and assistants.

🎙️ Season Four Recap: Exponential Growth Podcast

As we wrap Session Four of Exponential Growth, I’ve been reflecting on how this season stretched across so many frontiers, including leadership, AI, investing, culture, energy, and the human stories behind the people driving trillion-dollar transformations.

What I love most about this season is that it was a roadmap for how leaders can thrive in a world changing faster than ever. Here’s a quick look back at the conversations that shaped this chapter:

• ​Jeffrey Martinez (PNC Bank) — Leading 16,000 employees with clarity, communication, and service-driven strategy.
• ​JC Gutierrez — What it really takes to build trillion-dollar cultures rooted in trust and community.
• ​Biju Kulathakal — How founders should think about AI, investing, and long-term vision.
• ​Jorge Titinger — Why purpose is a strategy and culture is leadership infrastructure.
• ​César Lostaunau — The new AI-driven workforce and how leaders should prepare.
• ​Scott Slisher — The energy + data center + chip stack powering the AI era.
• ​Samara Mejía Hernández — Breaking barriers in venture capital and building access.
• ​Alejandro Mainetto — The hidden system behind Musk’s trillion-dollar empire.
• ​David Mullings & Lupe Rodríguez — Global leadership, generational wealth, and legacy.

If I had to sum up Session Four in one sentence, it would be this. ➡️ The leaders winning in this era are the ones who combine purpose with exponential thinking.

Subscribe and listen now to Exponential Growth wherever you get your podcasts.

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What’s Really Happening

We’re spending more time than ever in hybrid worlds, 3+ hours per day on mobile visual content, and AR is becoming the next layer of that attention.

Snapchat’s AR filters reach over 250 million users daily, while Meta’s latest Ray-Ban drop sold out in hours.

Even enterprise is shifting. Companies are deploying AR for maintenance, training, and visualization at scale.This hardware is catching up to human imagination.

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Leadership Lens

Every exponential curve starts with skepticism.

Remember when we thought we’d never watch movies on phones? Now we live through them.

The same mindset applies here:

• Leaders who embrace spatial computing early will define new industries.
• Founders who build tools, not toys, will own the platforms.
• Innovators who design for context, not clicks, will win attention in this new visual economy.

What the data show:

• The global spatial computing market was estimated at $102.5 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach $469.8 billion by 2030, growing at a ~20.4% CAGR.
• According to research, by 2028 about 20% of people will have an immersive spatial-computing experience with contextual/location-based content at least once a week, up from less than 1% in 2023.
• Industrial/spatial-computing use cases aren’t just future fantasy. One report puts the “industrial metaverse / spatial computing” sector at $100 billion by 2030.

Leadership implications:

• If you wait to see adoption curve flatten, you’ll miss the first part of the S-curve, and the advantage will go to someone else.
• Designing for context (physical + digital) means your product becomes embedded, not just additive. That is how you shift from accessory to platform.
• Investing in spatial computing today is an investment in how people will experience your brand, service, product in the next decade, not just an upgrade of interface.

Quick-actions to consider:

1. Audit how much your organization is still locked in 2-D thinking (screens, clicks). Map one way you could shift toward spatial or immersive interaction this year.
2. Identify one “tool vs toy” product line: ask, “Is this scalable? Does it embed into workflows or daily lives?”
3. Pick one area where context matters. On-site service, physical space, real-time decision-making. Build a minimum viable spatial interaction for that and test it.

Fun fact! Enklu is one of my portfolio companies, and I invested because they’re turning AR from a concept into a working platform used by real organizations today. Check out my recent Exponential Growth podcast episode with Ray Kallmeyer, CEO of Enklu, that dives deep into the technologies shaping our future.

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Closing Thoughts

I think we’re standing at the edge of the next big leap, from looking at technology to looking through it. Maybe those Google Gemini ads are a mirror reflecting where we’re headed.

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Until next time,

Let’s keep growing exponentially.

David Olivencia

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Want to be featured in this newsletter or on the Exponential Growth Podcast? Let’s make something people actually want to read and listen to. Hit reply.

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🎙️ Stay Ahead of the Curve

Subscribe to the Exponential Growth Podcast for more on investing, tech, finance, and innovation.

Join us every week for new episodes packed with valuable content designed to empower your journey toward exponential growth.

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Become a Member: If you're passionate about investing in the future and connecting with a powerful network of investors, founders, and executives, join Angeles Investors today.

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Book Me for Speaking: Growth, Investing, Networking, Leadership

I'm currently speaking at events, podcasts, and panels about

• Investing in the new economy
• ​NetWORKing for exponential impact
• Leadership in a rapidly changing world
• Empowering the next generation investor
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Interested in having me speak at your next event? Contact me today.

Together, let’s build a future that’s bigger, bolder, and more inclusive