by Danelle Dodds
Las Vegas will sweep away the noise blowers and glitter of a festive New Year’s Eve celebration and clear the path for a celebration of another kind—one that radiates innovation. CES, the most influential tech event the world has ever seen, descends again on the neon desert in early January, before 2023 resolutions even have a chance to be broken.
While the show has been a staple in the tech world since its humble New York premiere of 14 exhibitors in 1967, it has made Las Vegas its home for the last 30 years. Its homecoming is one the city—and the world—eagerly anticipates.
Consumer Technology Association (CTA) produces CES, and the event has long been considered the juggernaut of consumer technologies. It is the debutant ball of the latest technology innovation, as well as the anniversary celebration of the stalwart giants of the industry. It is where new products come to be discovered, and where tech of today is reimagined and transformed into tech of tomorrow.
The 2023 event is anticipated to have its all-star moment, with an expected 100,000 attendees. If those estimations are true, it will make it the largest independently audited post-pandemic tech event.
Those estimations come with a powerful economic footprint, both locally and for the exhibitors who showcase at the show. When musing on why it is important for businesses to attend or exhibit at the 2023 event, Gary Shapiro, CEO and president of CTA, surmises: “CES is where business gets done. At previous shows, keynoters from GM, NVIDIA Sony and Samsung saw significant stock price jumps after making announcements at CES. Investors have put some $10+ billion into companies in Eureka Park, our home for startups, and the average executive holds 29 meetings while at CES. In short, CES is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for businesses big and small to make the connections they need to succeed.”
To date, the economic impact of CES has been more than $6 billion.
With an exhibit floor of 2.1 million square feet, there will be much for an attendee to experience. The show floor is 70 percent larger than CES 2022 and chock-full of new experiences. Nearly 1,000 new exhibitors will premiere. Crowd favorites, like the sold-out West Hall of the Automotive area, are expected to draw huge crowds. Food Tech returns, following a wildly successful debut in 2022. And the highly anticipated new category of Web3 and metaverse will be unveiled.
But it’s not just about the financial or tech side of things—the heartbeat of this technology show is about enhancing the human experience and the connection between us. CES’s commitment to Health Tech is one example of this. Debuting in 2023 will be CES’s first-ever Digital Health Studio. In partnership with The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), the Digital Health Studio will be the cornerstone for digital health and the trends that are guiding the future of care and treatments.
The commitment to health tech extends into the CES Innovation Awards. Longtime exhibitor and first-ever healthcare CES 2022 keynote, Abbott was recently recognized by CTA with three CES 2023 Innovation Awards, including one for their Aveir VR Leadless Pacemaker, touted as a solution to keep hearts beating more regularly.
The human connection of the 2023 show is extended even further with the partnership with the United Nations and the World Academy of Arts and Science (WAAS). This commitment is an effort to “advance human security, or as we typically say it, human rights. Across the show floor and throughout our keynotes and conferences sessions, attendees will experience technology that supports access to food, clean air and water, healthcare, personal security, political engagement and more,” says Shapiro.
As CES proclaims, it is here to harness the power of human-to-human interaction to keep the innovation engine moving forward. To Shapiro, it’s simple. “The lesson we all learned from the COVID pandemic is the importance of human relationships and face-to-face interactions, and we have heard incredible excitement and enthusiasm from the tech community in the leadup to CES 2023. People are thrilled to be getting back together and enjoying the one-of-a-kind, five sense experience that is CES.”
