CES 2019

A new year brings in a lot of excitement for a myriad of reasons but for us here at T3 India, it’s the CES that keeps us excited and the stream of announcements coming out of the Las Vegas that set the tone of the rest of the year

- Kunal Gangar

CES is the world’s largest technology trade, and this year was bigger than ever. There were over 4,500 companies exhibiting in a space of over 2.9 million net square feet with over 180,000 attendees from over 155 countries attending the show in four days.

CES has been a playground for consumer electronics companies but the show has expanded into a variety of verticals that brings the entire technology ecosystem into one, ranging from the regular consumer electronic products to automobiles, enterprise solutions, entertainment, and even resilient tech.

Eureka Park started off as a small area and is now an integral part of CES. Over 1,200 startups exhibited at Eureka Park that enabled these small startups to meet potential customers, buyers and investors.

Interestingly, CES organisers, CTA also announced a $10 million fund that will invest in startups focused on women, people of colour and other underrepresented startups and entrepreneurs.

AI is not a buzzword anymore. CES was filled with companies showing off their vision for artificial intelligence and how it will improve our lives. LG Electronics President and CTO Dr. I.P. Park’s preshow keynote showed how its ThinQ AI platform is adding meaningful innovation for its customers.

Speaking of AI, you cannot rule out Google and Amazon for introducing smart voice-assistants. Both companies took over CES (and Las Vegas), showing off what their voice assistants are capable of and while Google focused on a smart home approach, Amazon’s ambitious plan wants you to interact with Alexa everywhere. Right from a Roland keyboard to a virtual reality headset to when you’re inside a car.