On the ground @ CES —smart homes, VR, connected toothbrushes & more— oh my!
Bright pink VR glasses await as you board the flight from San Francisco to Vegas and the plane is filled with people who simply don’t want to be there. People love to hate CES, yet 170,000 of us keep coming year after year.
This is my third year at CES — last year I went with my Lightspeed VC hat on and the year prior with an operating hat on. I was working for a wearable tech startup so spent the time working and promoting the product. I look at CES this year from both view points and have interviewed some 50+ people to really understand the tone, motivations and what is hot or just overhyped.
What’s the tone?
Among startups: The tone at CES among startups is positive as most purely see it as an opportunity to see their partners, investors, the media, customers, future potential customers and more customers. Always be selling! Many have back to back meetings set up throughout the day and may not even set foot on the floor (aka the zoo). For those operators that have a booth, it is important to get as many eye balls as possible on your product and having conversations with the right customers. A few founders said:
“97% of the folk that walk past will stop, look, ogle but not present an opportunity for us personally… but there is the 3% that will make the cost and time of CES all worth while. For us, these are the CEO of the Retailer that we’d most like to work with, the head of partnerships for our dream partner and the investor that specializes in this exact space. These 3% make it all worth while”
We live in a world of anomalies where those 3% make or break us and CES is certainly an example of that as we try to cut through the noise.
For those operators on the software side, they tell me they are also here to be part of the conversation and to speak on the panels so that the right customers see them as the thought leader in their subject.
Among VCs: Many see CES as overwhelming but it helps us to see first hand where the changes are happening and opens our eyes up to new trends or products. Reading and talking about new technology is one thing but we need to see and touch it ourselves and really be in the debate to fully understand a product. Experts from all areas, who look through different lenses, are at CES so it is important to speak to the experts in your field and ask the tough questions. We must stay curious. These conversations shape our view of the world, which in turn impacts investment decisions. Many investors said they have a clear agenda and will get in and out as fast as possible to complete their set goals. Others told me they absorb everything and only after the journey has ended do they absorb the learnings.
My partner at Lightspeed, Aaron Batalion (aka. fanboy of the future), said:
I believe we’re at an inflection point as connected intelligent devices integrate more deeply into our lives. There is no better place to see so many of these companies in one place and to envision what future ecosystems and opportunities will be created. It’s an exciting time to be a fanboy of the future.
In addition to the products, CES also brings together great people from all over the world, so it is a good chance to meet in person with those you’ve been looking to connect with, without flights across the country or world.
My view is that sometimes when we get caught up in companies that we are excited about or deals on going, it is difficult to see the wood for the trees. CES allows us to take a step back and consider the emerging trends and blind spots that many of us have… even if we are stepping back into 170,000 people at CES.
Hot or not?
- The AI toothbrush — Given AI is the most discussed topic this year, it’s only right to have it in a toothbrush?
- The TV that rolls up like a newspaper — TVs have been getting thinner and thinner for years but we may now be at the peak (or cutting edge)?
- The hair growth helmet — well, why not? KYC
For the full list of the most talked about products at CES, check this out.
What I am excited by
1. Autonomous vehicles — CES 2016 was the year of the self-driving car. There were debates about how many years it would take to reach our streets and within a year the CES prototypes are a reality. CES 2017 is the year of the self-driving vehicle. Why stop at cars. There is 2.6 million square feet of exhibition space at CES this year and a significant % of that is taken up by autonomous vehicles. They are one of the most discussed topics here as we ask experts what the realistic timeline is for both products and regulation.
2. AI — perhaps the most overhyped and talked about subject at CES thus far, especially when AI in a toothbrush has come up countless times. There is a lot of “artificial” AI but when big data sets can be applied and it be fully automated is the question. Google translate is now 94% accurate but many AI companies are still drawing on labor more than AI. Perhaps AI remains a case of what we expect is near term will take longer but what we expect to be 10 years away will be here much faster. The tone was certainly worrisome that robots will take our jobs far faster than we believe to be true. Robots are rapidly decreasing in costs so that they may soon be below the cost of blue collar wages. The next step is when they will start to take over white collar careers and we are already starting to see signs of this when skills such as coding are being done by machine, rather than man. Many an AI bear can be found at CES but perhaps that shows the opportunity.
3. Wearables 2.0 — Fitness tech is interesting to me but the focus at CES has been on hardware such as smart watches and FitBits, which many are calling overhyped. I believe it’s much more exciting to think about the non hardware within fitness/ wellness tech. Hardware only goes so far. How do you get under the skin (quite literally)? For example, many here question when sensors will be rolled out that measure cortisol levels and update us when we’re stressed. This is starting with companies such as K’Track to measure your glucose levels but I am excited about companies really getting underneath our skin, giving us the ability to understand ourselves far deeper.
4. Smart Home — Nest (a Lightspeed portfolio company) and Amazon Alexa are starting what many will follow and the open integration that Alexa is offering will allow far more smart home devices to be created this year. These are already in early stages at CES and we must look for the ones that have true network effects.
5. VR/ AR — This continues to be an area that many VCs are looking to invest in but the question of what is success in VR remains unanswered at the current time. Is VR merely the stepping stone to AR was the question on many lips (both investors and founders). CES presents an opportunity for new insights here and many people I spoke to have come to CES for the sole reason of VR.
6. Healthcare/ Wellness — One major step change this year versus previous years was the space dedicated to sleep tech. More devices to help you with sleep than you could imagine. Many investors were wondering around this space saying that for those who can not sleep, it is the biggest problem that they have. I personally use Sleep Stories on the app Calm to help here. Other areas in Healthcare represent huge opportunities in my eyes as while sensors are in their infancy now, this year will be interesting. The JP Morgan Healthcare conference next week should shed further light here.
CES is half way through, the announcements are out, deals are being done and the parties continue. People love to hate CES. The noise, crowds and difficulty in getting around — not the most enjoyable… but there are nuggets, real nuggets to be found.
* Denotes a Lightspeed portfolio company
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