Held in Las Vegas from 7th to 10th
Over 4,500 companies from 158 countries participate
29% increase from last year, record high
129 Korean companies win Innovation Awards
Account for 44% of total 292 winners
Samsung showcases remote control for screen appliances
LG exhibits concept car 'MX Platform'
Jensen Huang delivers keynote speech after 8 years
The grand stage for new home appliances and information technology (IT), 'CES 2025,' will open from the 7th to the 10th (local time) in Las Vegas, USA, a dazzling jewel-like city in the scorching desert.
Starting as a small-scale home appliance event on June 24, 1967, with about 100 home appliance companies participating and around 17,000 visitors, CES has firmly established itself as the largest home appliance and IT exhibition this year and is expected to showcase its grandeur once again. According to the organizers, approximately 4,500 companies from 158 countries will participate in CES 2025. This is the largest scale ever, a 29% increase from the previous year. About 600 Korean companies, including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, and SK, will also participate in this exhibition to demonstrate their technological prowess. Among the 'CES 2025 Innovation Awards' announced in advance, 129 of the 292 total award-winning companies are Korean, greatly raising expectations. In terms of proportion, Korean companies swept 44% of the total. Among participating countries, Korea has the highest number of award-winning companies. Companies will showcase their flagship technologies at the approximately 240,000㎡ exhibition hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. It is estimated that about 140,000 people will visit the exhibition hall.
The main theme of the exhibition is undoubtedly artificial intelligence (AI). The Consumer Technology Association (CTA), which organizes the event, has set the exhibition theme as 'Connect. Solve. Discover. DIVE IN,' meaning to connect, solve, discover, and deeply explore through technology. AI-related products that companies will showcase at the exhibition have increased by more than 50% compared to the previous year. Companies are particularly focusing on the 'connectivity' that AI possesses. Connectivity means linking technology and humans. Various AI technologies widely used in many areas of human life are ready to adorn the exhibition hall.
Representative examples include 'agents,' AI that autonomously judges and operates to assist users, and 'on-device,' AI models embedded in devices. Samjeong KPMG predicts that 'AI agents' will be the main keyword at CES 2025, stating, "Based on advanced AI, the agent function that integrates AI into various devices to minimize user intervention and provide services is expected to expand." In addition, the integration of healthcare and AI is also one of the technologies attracting attention at this event. Products combining wearable devices and AI to improve health management and convenience will be unveiled.
Korean companies will also showcase a large number of products equipped with next-generation AI technologies. Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics will exhibit various products applying the 'AI Home' strategy, which means AI technology embedded in our daily lives. Samsung Electronics will introduce screen appliances equipped with AI Home technology. Through the touchscreens embedded in the products, all home appliances connected to 'SmartThings' can be remotely monitored and controlled. The Bespoke refrigerator with a 9-inch touchscreen and the Bespoke washing machine and dryer each equipped with a 7-inch touchscreen will be prominently displayed. LG Electronics will exhibit the new version of its flagship laptop, the 'LG Gram.' The new LG Gram to be unveiled this time provides AI services within the laptop without network connection through 'Gram Chat On-Device.' Using the 'Time Travel' feature, AI remembers and restores data accidentally deleted during work. By utilizing 'AI Search,' even hard-to-find documents or images can be detailedly distinguished and found. LG Electronics will also exhibit the concept car 'MX Platform,' which extends AI Home to automobiles. It is a 'mobile customized space' created by combining AI home appliances and Internet of Things (IoT) devices tailored to each customer's lifestyle. It is the result of extending the AI Home experience to vehicles.
SK Group will fill the exhibition hall with AI infrastructure technologies from SK Hynix and SK Telecom. SK Hynix is expected to showcase ultra-high-performance memory technologies such as High Bandwidth Memory (HBM). Attention is focused on whether they will reveal the 5th generation HBM, the 16-layer HBM3E product, and the 6th generation HBM, HBM4 products, which are being developed and prepared for mass production as this year's flagship. SK Telecom plans to disclose specific service plans through a demonstration of the AI agent 'Aster.' They will also introduce 'ScamVanguard,' an AI-based mobile financial fraud detection and prevention technology. Developed to respond to mobile financial fraud transmitted via text messages, calls, and other forms, it helps respond to potential threats through learning.
Major players dominating the global AI market will also welcome visitors at the exhibition. In particular, there is intense interest in Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, who will open the exhibition. He will be the first of six keynote speakers to take the stage on the 6th, a day before the event opens. The first keynote speaker is regarded as the face symbolizing the event of that year. The CTA has noted that CES 2025 will be a grand stage for the latest AI technologies and reportedly selected CEO Huang as the face to symbolize this. Regarding this, NVIDIA self-praised, "CEO Huang's story, from starting as a waiter at Denny's (a nationwide restaurant chain in the U.S.) to founding NVIDIA, symbolizes innovation and perseverance."
This will be CEO Huang's first keynote speech at CES in eight years. He took the stage as a keynote speaker in 2017 and declared his vision for AI technology and market entry in front of many company officials visiting CES. In this speech, he is expected to reveal the progress of the next-generation AI accelerator Blackwell and the PC GPU RTX 50 series and emphasize the impact AI technology will have on our economy and society.
CEO Huang is also expected to introduce many companies collaborating with NVIDIA during the keynote, and there is industry speculation that SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won may appear on stage at that time. Previously, at the 'AI Summit' hosted by SK Group at COEX in Seoul on November 4 last year, CEO Huang revealed cooperation plans with SK via video. Besides CEO Huang, Julie Sweet, CEO of Accenture; Yuki Kusumi, CEO of Panasonic Holdings; Martin Lundstedt, CEO of Volvo Group; Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Air Lines; and Jennifer Witz, CEO of SiriusXM, will also deliver keynote speeches.
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