AI Avatars Take Center Stage at the MONA Awards 

For the 2025 Siemens Mobility MONA Awards, the Siemens leadership team wanted to do more than just talk about innovation – they wanted to show it. Their goal: deliver a bold, unforgettable demonstration of what today’s rapidly advancing AI can truly achieve. 

The concept from the Beyond Events team was simple, but dramatic. Starting with only still photographs, they set out to create fully functional AI avatars of CEO Marc Buncher and CFO Marc Buncher to present the awards live on stage. 

To bring the vision to life, Beyond turned to two powerful AI platforms:
Kling AI for ultra-realistic body movement, and Runway for voice and speech synchronization. Dozens of iterations to fine-tune followed, perfecting the lip sync, ensure natural gestures, and flawlessly merge both systems. 

The final result? Hyper-realistic, life-sized holograms of Marc and Bernd delivered via holographic Proto Box created an incredible experience.  

And just when the audience thought they’d seen it all, the real Marc and Bernd walked on stage and stood beside their AI doubles, blurring the line between the digital and physical in a showstopping moment that brought the house down. 

One of the interesting aspects of this project was the collaboration between Siemens Mobility and Siemens Energy. Thanks to our longstanding relationship with Siemens Energy and extensive work together, we were able to facilitate the use of their Proto Box at a significantly reduced cost. By brokering and passing through the rental directly, Siemens Mobility saved approximately 75% off the standard rental rate, creating a true win-win for both divisions.  

See Marc and Bernd – both the digital and physical versions – onstage at this year’s MONA Awards Show: