4 Top Tech Takeaways from #CES2020

Our first day at CES was incredible! With over 180,000 people here to see the world’s most cutting-edge tech, to say it’s a huge event is an understatement. From hybrid-electric flying cars, to retinal scan payments, to artificial humans, CES is a technological treasure we have only begun to discover.

1. Women are taking technology by storm.

Our own Cherri Prince made history as a part of the largest “Girls Gone Walkin’ Floor Tour” to date. Hosted by The Female Quotient and Verizon Media, this year’s tour highlighted some of the best of CES, including Samsung’s new AI Chatbot, NEON—a virtual “being” that’s pioneering the progression of intelligence and emotion in machines.

2. “Healthcare is the new frontier for consumerism.”

This quote by Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, author of HealthConsuming: From Health Consumer to Health Citizen and an esteemed presenter at the conference, refers to the impending shift in the healthcare industry, where more of the payment burden will shift to the patients. When that happens, they will demand the same level of choice and transparency as they get from Amazon today—which we can already see in the proliferation of wearable/shareable health-tracking devices. This shift toward consumerism presents both a huge challenge—and opportunity—for healthcare innovators around the world.

3. 5G is being called the fourth industrial revolution.

Adoption of 5G means faster devices across the board, which will enable certain fields—especially healthcare—to greatly increase their use of internet-connected devices. Both Samsung and Verizon are working hard to bring 5G to the public: Verizon currently has 5 labs across the country innovating around different verticals to advance 5G technology in the coming year, while Samsung has 6.7 million mobile 5G devices available worldwide, right now. By the end of 2020, 31 metro areas in the U.S. will be covered by Verizon 5G.

4. Technology will become the key driver for increasing sustainability among both new and old companies alike.

Mark Benihoff, CEO of Sales Force, and Alan Jope, CEO of Unilever, shared inspiring stories about how their respective companies have worked together to build long-term relevance by being a force for positive change. They firmly believe that the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs will leverage today’s technology to forge a better tomorrow.

Interested in more inspiration from CES? Check out our article packed with more insights from the event.

And CES might be over, but there are plenty of other innovation conferences you can still attend this year. Read our summary of 10 top innovation conferences taking place in 2020.

Donna Zaring is VP, Strategy at Seed Strategy where she uses her 20+ years of experience across global CPG, healthcare, industrial and retail, advertising, marketing and strategic consulting to help companies pinpoint opportunities to evolve and unlock meaningful growth.

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