Over the past 10 years, DEVAR has grown from a pioneer in consumer AR into a company with a truly global footprint: over 15 million phygital products sold in 74 countries, more than 300,000 users and creators on the MyWebAR platform, projects spanning more than 180 countries, and the trust of international brands and publishers. Today, MyWebAR ranks among the world’s leading webAR platforms, and DEVAR is one of only a handful of companies with a fully proprietary computer vision stack for AR.
An anniversary is not only a reason to look back. It is also a moment to ask out loud: what comes next for DEVAR, for webAR, and for creators around the world?
Ten years of progress: from the first AR book to phygital products
When the DEVAR team first started working with augmented reality, the industry had no standards, no roadmaps, and no established practices. There were no textbooks or proven playbooks to follow. We had to chart our own path through experiments, mistakes, and unexpected discoveries.
“We were true pioneers in immersive technology who chose to sail into the unknown, fully aware that we might take a wrong turn. And yes, sometimes we did make mistakes, we had to go back, we took winding paths where today we’d simply draw a straight line. But we were always driven by a dream and a belief that we were creating something genuinely special,” recalls Anna Belova, Founder of DEVAR (MyWebAR).
Even before the release of the first AR book, Anna said in an interview something that still sets the tone for the company today: “If tomorrow I wake up and realize I want to publish books, I’ll go and publish them.”
And that’s exactly what she did. At a trade show in China, we watched children’s eyes light up as characters sprang to life from their coloring books in the exact colors they had chosen. We had found our niche. That moment marked the beginning of a journey into an industry that had barely changed since the invention of the printing press.
“Skeptics told us AR in books was unnecessary. We had no background in publishing, but we still created one of the most successful consumer products with augmented reality. In every country, we found a partner who shared our enthusiasm and vision. Today, DEVAR books and toys are sold in dozens of countries and in dozens of languages by leading publishers, and total sales have long surpassed 15 million copies. I’m deeply grateful to every partner and to the entire DEVAR team, the world’s best team for creating AR products,” says Anna Belova.
Over time, DEVAR developed its own methodology for creating phygital products at the intersection of physical and digital. For us, AR isn’t about effects for effects’ sake – it’s a fundamental part of industrial design and user experience. Our goal is to reach one in every ten families across 200 countries, helping them transform their environment by making things more useful and the world more convenient using Helpful Reality by DEVAR.
Stage two: the MyWebAR platform and the creator community
The next challenge was not only to create AR products ourselves, but also to give others the ability to do the same. This marked the beginning of DEVAR’s second chapter: the launch of our own webAR platform.
In 2021, we introduced MyWebAR, a web-based platform for creating AR content. From day one, it was important for us that augmented reality worked where people already spend their time: in their everyday browsers, without app downloads or extra friction.
Our R&D teams combined all of the computer vision technologies we had developed so that anyone could create their own AR experience in just a few minutes. Within its first year, MyWebAR became one of the most widely adopted webAR platforms in the world. Today, the MyWebAR community includes more than 300,000 users from around the globe. Among them are teams from brands such as Google, Siemens, McDonald’s, BMW, Nasdaq, and many others.
The platform’s strength lies in serving both beginners and professionals at the same time:
- For students, educators, and emerging creators, MyWebAR offers an intuitive interface and a wide range of plug-and-play modules that enable building complete no-code projects from scratch.
- For professional digital agencies and brands, there is a powerful set of advanced features and capabilities.
This dual approach has made MyWebAR one of the leading platforms in webAR and one of the industry’s most widely deployed solutions for AR development. Each month, MyWebAR powers live projects in more than 180 countries and spans dozens of industries, from marketing and merchandise to souvenirs, education, and urban environments.
“The most exciting thing is watching thousands of projects being created on the platform at the same time. Behind each of them are very different people: entrepreneurs, designers, managers, marketers, teachers. And each of them discovers the world of augmented reality in their own way. This is what real democratization of technology looks like,” says Anna.
What’s next for webAR and wearable devices
Smart glasses are evolving rapidly – becoming lighter, more powerful, and ready for mainstream adoption. Powered by large language models, AR is evolving from tech demo to practical tool: information appears when it is needed and where the user is looking.
While mass adoption may be a few years away, the foundation for a real shift is already being built. The content creators design today for smartphones will be able to live on glasses tomorrow with only minor adjustments.
WebAR remains a universal way to publish camera-based interactive experiences: users need only a smartphone and an internet connection to access them. For creators, this means a rapid cycle: idea to prototype to measurable results. For teams, it delivers predictable workflows and built-in analytics – with no extra steps for end users.
“We are not waiting for perfect AR glasses from one of the giants to hit the market. We are already making AR accessible to billions of people who own smartphones. Our task is to build a bridge between today’s phones and tomorrow’s glasses so that creators and brands feel confident crossing it,” emphasizes Anna Belova.
Our priorities for the coming year
Our priorities remain constant: delivering quality, usability, and democratizing webAR, with a strong emphasis on professional-grade tools.
- MyWebAR will remain the most accessible XR platform where you can create AR experiences without coding, using generative AI and ready-made templates.
- We’ll continue expanding advanced features for power users, agencies, and enterprise brands – and we’re actively seeking partnerships with the professional community.
- DEVAR will maintain its position among the select few companies with a fully proprietary computer vision stack for AR, and MyWebAR will remain among the top webAR platforms for both user adoption and technical sophistication.
Our mission remains unchanged: making AR both accessible and affordable for everyone and unlocking its practical value across marketing, education, retail, entertainment, and phygital experiences. We will keep shortening the path from idea to working scene so that MyWebAR stays the tool creators love most.
Anna Belova: “The first decade is behind us. The next one will be even bolder.”
“Ten years ago, we believed in a simple idea: AR could transform products by becoming a natural part of them. Over the past decade, our community has proven this daily with real projects.
The most exciting part is still ahead. Smartphones today, smart glasses tomorrow. Our task is to build that bridge and ensure creators, developers, and brands can cross it confidently. If you share this vision, we invite you to join us on this journey.
We relentlessly improve our technology not because we’re perfectionists, but because we believe AR should be useful and accessible to everyone, in business, creativity, and education.
We’re innovators at the intersection of art and immersive technology. We’ve transformed product design by making AR an integral part of products and delivering its value to millions of users. Now our mission is to share this knowledge with everyone who wants to create and inspire,” says Anna Belova.
DEVAR.AI is coming soon
DEVAR.AI is a bold rethinking of the augmented reality creation process, emerging from the convergence of cutting-edge technology and real-world demand. We will share more details in a separate announcement. For now, one thing is certain: DEVAR.AI marks the beginning of a new chapter for DEVAR.
