Sesame Summit 2026 – application open

Unboxing CES 2022

CES is one of the most-anticipated global consumer electronics events of the year and after experimenting with a fully virtual format in 2021, CES will finally be opening its doors again IRL in 2022. What improvements can attendees expect from this new event?

We look forward to returning to Las Vegas this January and have seen incredible momentum over the past few weeks leading up to the show. All CES attendees must be fully vaccinated to join us in person and we are creating a digital event to share the magic of an in-person show with digital audiences from around the world. Audiences will have access to exhibitors, conference sessions, keynotes and product announcements from Las Vegas. We are incorporating our learnings from the all-digital CES 2021 to create a truly unique experience. This evolution gives people who may not have been able to participate before access to the show. The digital event also gives new and emerging exhibitors a larger platform to share how their unique innovations can move industries forward.

blank
Consumer Technology Association

How will the CTA’s recent licensing of Web Summit’s proprietary “Summit Engine” software improve networking opportunities for CES 2022 attendees?

CES will be held in-person in Las Vegas and all exhibitors and speakers will be joining is there. However we recognize not all of those who want to participate will be able to join us in person this year.  CTA selected Web Summit as the technology provider for CES 2022 digital platform because the cloud-based platform was built to convene both in-person and digital audiences around the world. We wanted a platform that would help all attendees stay connected. Those participating in person will use the digital platform to plan their CES schedule and connect with other participants. Digital audiences will have the opportunity to share the excitement of the in-person event by accessing live keynotes, viewing select conference sessions and connecting with exhibitors and other attendees. Exhibitors with a physical presence in Las Vegas can expand their reach to CES digital audiences with this creative platform to showcase their product launches and thought leadership.

blank
Consumer Technology Association

The speaker lineup for CES 2022 is filled with some notable luminaries & thought-leaders. Which speakers are you most looking forward to hearing from?

We have hundreds of industry experts and thought leaders joining us to cover a wide array of topics at CES 2022. We’re excited to have Abbott President and CEO Robert Ford give our first-ever healthcare keynote. Abbott will discuss how the pandemic has led to rapid advancement in healthcare technology.

Samsung’s Jong-Hee (JH) Han and GM’s Mary Barra will also join us on the keynote stage. Samsung’s keynote is a call to action to mitigate climate change and the company will show how everyone can do their part in building a sustainable planet. GM has committed to unveiling the first all-electric Chevy Silverado. CES 2022 will highlight how the pandemic has accelerated innovation across all industries and serve as a sounding board for how businesses can evolve to address the growing need for tech that improves people’s lives.

We’re also introducing a new “Great Minds” conference programming series to feature how some industry leaders are shaping the future with technologies once deemed impossible. These speakers will explore how innovation is enabling global connectivity and empowering under-represented voices—steering companies through a time of incredible societal change. They will ask questions like “What will transportation look like in five years?”; “How can governments spur innovation?” and more.

Health tech has grown immensely over the past two years, with innovative trends spanning patient care, wearables, at-home fitness and telehealth services. Consumers are taking health into their own hands, especially as we’re spending more time at home. We’re also beginning to see ways that tech is helping people improve their mental health — an important, but sometimes overshadowed part of healthcare.

Increased interest in electric vehicles and self-driving technology has also made the automotive market one to watch. Advancing electric and self-driving vehicles will be critical to developing smart and resilient infrastructure by providing sustainable and accessible transportation options for communities. The automotive and transportation category at CES 2022 is tracking for record growth with more than 200 exhibitors committed to the show. We’ll see how this increasingly competitive market has spurred unique solutions from emerging innovators. Some first-time exhibitors for CES 2022 include VinFast, Vietnam’s first EV car company, TuSimple, who will unveil an autonomous freight truck, and Evocargo, which is manufacturing autonomous hydrogen-powered vehicles.

Smart home, entertainment and gaming have also seen growth as people look for ways they can make time at home more convenient and more enjoyable. Our new category food tech will even feature exhibitors highlighting advancements in meal kit and food delivery services, making it easier to cook at home.


Interested in CES? Register your Sesamers profile to see who else is going!

you might also like

blank
Events 2 days ago

Last week, I spent three days at Bits and Pretzels in Munich — a startup-focused event with a distinctly Bavarian flavor. Think Oktoberfest meets startup conference, complete with dirndls, lederhosen, and more beer than you might expect. As someone building an AI-powered event platform, I went in with a specific mission: Observe how startups actually market themselves at events. Here’s what I discovered: GoodBytz: The power of good demos What they did: Robotics startup GoodBytz set up a booth where its robots prepared kaiserschmarrn (a traditional German dessert) all day long. Why it worked: Nothing beats seeing a product in action. While other booths had brochures and demos, GoodBytz’s robots were actually cooking. The smell, the movement and the end result stirred together an experience that people will remember and talk about. The lesson: If you have a physical product, show it in action. The old writing adage generalizes well: Show, don’t tell.  Let people see, hear and touch the product. WeRoad: The bathroom hack What they did: Posted “Missing Investor” flyers in bathroom stalls with QR codes pointing to their website. Why it worked: Pure genius. Every startup at the event was looking for investors, but the “Missing Investor” headline, while a bit on the nose, proved irresistible. Plus, bathroom stalls are one of the few places where people have 30 seconds to actually read something. The lesson: Think about where your target audience’s attention will remain undivided. Sometimes, the most effective marketing leverages the most unexpected places. Emqopter: Visual impact matters What they did: Designed a bright orange booth that displayed their drone prominently. Why it worked: In a sea of grey, white, beige and brown, Emqopter’s bright orange booth was impossible to overlook. The drone was real, too, and proved a real conversation starter. The lesson: Your booth is competing with hundreds of others. Make it visually distinctive and ensure your product is the hero. Quests: Community building using the product What they did: Created a busy, branded booth with accessories (toy car, traffic cones, a bulletin board) and used their anti-loneliness app to build communities among founders at the event. Why it worked: Quests used their product to solve a real problem right at the event, and the busy booth design generated energy and curiosity. The lesson: Use your product to solve a problem at the event — if it’s possible, of course. Demonstrate your value in real time. Dyno: Event-themed marketing What they did: Distributed branded electrolyte packs with the tagline “Your hangover ends. Your pension lasts – with Dyno.” Why it worked: Dyno aligned its messaging perfectly with the Oktoberfest theme. Every attendee was thinking about beer and hangovers, so Dyno’s goodies were quite relevant. The tagline was clever, memorable, and directly addressed a pain point most people at the event might have to deal with later. The lesson: Tailor your marketing to the event’s theme and culture. The more you tie your messaging and product to the context, the more memorable you become. So, what did I learn? Event marketing is about more than just showing up and setting up a booth; you have to understand your audience and create experiences that people will remember. Here’s what really struck me: most startups and even big companies don’t know how to leverage events properly. They book the booth, show up and hope for the best; maybe they bring some branded pens and a pop-up banner. Then they’ll go back home and wonder why they spent €5,000 in exchange for 50 business cards that never convert. The startups that stood out at Bits and Pretzels understand something fundamental: event ROI isn’t about booth size or location; it’s about strategy, creativity and planning. None of the startups above improvised on-site, or planned something the night before the event in their hotel rooms. They laid everything out 4-6 weeks before the event. A solid pre-event strategy is what separates successful event marketing from expensive booth rental.  But what matters most for early-stage startups is that you don’t need a massive budget to stand out. WeRoad’s bathroom stall hack probably cost €50 to print the flyers. A standard booth package at Bits and Pretzels would go for €3,000 to €5,500. The ROI difference is staggering when you compare the cost per meaningful conversation. That’s the difference between simply spending money and investing smartly. Building Sesamers has taught me that helping startups find the right events is only half the equation. The other half is helping them understand how to maximize ROI once they’re there. Good props aren’t a marketing expense; they’re opportunities to meet customers, investors and partners, and strike up engaging conversations.

blank
New Materials 3 days ago

Lios Group, the Irish startup behind SoundBounce, was a winner of JEC Composites Startup Booster 2018, and has been making significant strides since taking home the award.

blank
New Materials 1 week ago

Tree Composites aims to accelerate the energy transition with innovative composite joints.

Subscribe to
our Newsletter!

Stay at the forefront with our curated guide to the best upcoming Tech events.