The French Tech at the CES 2018 The French Tech at the CES 2018 275 French start-ups joined the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. France is now the 2nd most represented country.
For more than 50 years, the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, organised by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), is the biggest yearly event for electronics and technologies. The 2018 edition focused on "smart cities". Inventors and innovators from all over the world showcased futuristic products about to flood our daily life.
French start-ups take on Vegas' CES
275 French start-ups exhibited their products and technologies at the Eureka Park. France is now the second most represented country at the CES 2018, closely followed by the United States. 289 American start-ups were present. Far from this number, the Netherlands had 60 start-ups, China and Italia had 47. Éric Morand, director of the Tech and Services departments at Business France is happy with this record presence of French start-ups: "It's a good sign! We are continuing our intensification".
About 20 major groups such as La Poste, Total, L’Oréal, Michelin or Aéroports de Paris (ADP) also joined the delegation of French start-ups. They all focused their development on an innovative process. "We invent the airport of tomorrow: smart in its infrastructure, internal organisation and services, and connected to the city. This year's subject, smart city, is an echo to our priorities", said Edward Arkwright, executive general director of ADP.
Financial stakes
The taste of the French for this event can also be explained by the scale of the event. The CES is where you see future trends and major inventions emerge for electronics. The fair saw the birth of the VCR recorder in 1970, the DVD in 1996 and HD TV in 1998. "The CES stars 170,000 participants from all over the world, including many general directors, innovation directors and purchasing directors who are able to allocate budgets" explains Pierre Dejean, coordinator of the French Tech Bordeaux. By participating in the CES, a French company improve its credit, rightfulness and local and international visibility. It's the perfect opportunity for industry monitoring and to meet managers of innovative companies.
French innovation awarded
Two French start-ups won the Best of Innovation Award. Blue Frogs Robotics won the award for Buddy, its companion robot. The robot uses an open source platform and can be used as a personal domestic assistant: it's able to identify faces, have a conversation and read stories to children. The start-up Lancey Energy Storage won the award for its heater. The company invented the first electric space heater with an integrated battery in order to save money and contribute to energetic transition.
With about 3,900 exhibitors and 170,000 professional visitors, the fair offers a great opportunity and nice visibility to start-ups. Even though they didn't win any award, French start-ups marked minds. Among others, the model Euveka, designed for the textile industry, can take any shape and morphology. And the 3D Lexip mouse allows to interact with an object in 3D. Once again, French start-ups proved that they don't lack innovative ideas and smart projects.
