It's been several years since the CES trade show in Las Vegas was merely about consumer electronics and the latest in big TVs. The 2025 show, which begins today, has expanded its scope to include almost anything with a computer chip and wiring. That means that the companies exhibiting at CES may be just as likely to be focused on the auto industry, health care or waste management as electronics.
Covestro AG, for instance, points to the use of its materials to insulate electric vehicle batteries, conductive film for electronics and polycarbonate for displays. Japan-based Cellid Inc. specializes in components for smart glasses while South Korea-based AG Optics uses PC for drone camera lenses.
There are exhibitors that supply bioplastics — Delaware-based Algbio and South Korea's Green Whale Global — and a South Korean firm, MCE, looking at commercialization efforts related to studies showing that mealworms can eat and digest expanded polystyrene.
CES says more than 4,500 exhibitors will be at the show. Of course, not all the companies will thrive after the event. And even major companies admit that not every product on display will be a hit.
"We use CES as a way to throw things up on the wall and see what sticks," Craig Piersma, vice president of marketing at auto supplier Gentex, told our sister paper Automotive News. "A lot of what we show are concepts and ideas. The ones that our customers gravitate toward — hopefully, we'll get a development program with them, and then the next CES we can show a prototype."