Occitanie: CES, the largest tech show, welcomes start-ups from around the world… and from the Region

Le CES, plus grand salon tech au monde. DR – Christina BeDell/DR

The largest tech show in the world opens this Tuesday, January 9 in Las Vegas, until Saturday 12. It welcomes a regional delegation.

Like every year, the largest tech show in the world, the CES (Consumer Electronic Show) is being held in Las Vegas, from January 9 to 12. And the Occitanie Region is once again present there, with a selection of local start-ups. Although the living room no longer attracts " than 115,000 visitors, attendance down sharply after two editions disrupted by Covid, compared to 150,000 for VivaTech last year, the show remains an essential date for the tech sector.

"Our media coverage exploded following the CES, including appearances on various television shows", confirms Maximilien Johanides, founder of the Montpellier-based start-up Odaptos, who is once again part of the Ad'Occ delegation this year, the regional economic development agency, leading the Region's presence at the show, in partnership with the Maison de New-York.

This regional support takes the form, for applicant and chosen companies, of 35 hours of specialized support training, particularly for participation in English at the show, a Regional stand, bringing together start-ups and their representatives , located in the middle of Eureka Park, the exhibition hall dedicated to start-ups, as well as the arrival of one or more representatives from the Region (this year Jalil Benabdillah, vice-president of the Occianie Region delegate for Economy and Innovation, who represents Carole Delga, present last year).

Many Occitanie companies

Each year, CES also awards awards, the "Innovation Awards", to the companies responsible for the best innovations presented at the show. Around 200 this year, classified by categories and countries. Several regional companies have already won Awards.

One of the most notable, Montpellier-based Vaonis, which manufactures connected telescopes, has won three, including one this year, "Vaonis received an Innovation Award in 2018, another in 2021 and for this new edition, the company receives a new award with a "best of innovation". It’s a unique visibility challenge to make yourself visible to investors: Chris Larsen, billionaire and American investor bought a Stellina, one of our products, and invested in the start-up up" says its founder, Cyril Dupuy.

The Occitanie delegation, which also presents the region and its assets to the most influential decision-makers, is thus one of the most important regions of France present at the CES. It thus allows the companies that are part of it to meet potential prospects, national and international groups, all of which send at least one representative, as well as investors.

This delegation is, however, not the only one representing the region at the show: certain other regional companies also have stands there, generally alone or accompanied by another group of their partners. This is particularly the case this year for Toulouse manufacturers Eyelights and Nanomade, or Bleu Jour, based in several countries, which notably manufactures high-quality computers and peripherals.

Ten years of regional delegations

This year marks ten years of support for companies by the regional agency Ad'Occ at the CES show. A beginning process in 2015 with 7 companies, compared to 17 this year, exhibitors and visitors included. A selection period which begins in August for Ad'Occ in order to choose among the applicant companies, and At the beginning of September for the chosen start-ups.

Ad'Occ has thus achievedé 289 accompaniments (including a total of 89 visitors to the show). A total of 187 companies were reviewed. followed during the event Las Vegas, 88% of which are still in operation. The testimonies of the CEOs of these structures show that the CES allowed them to contact investors, and above all a large number of principals with whom they sometimes signed contracts. American contracts, leading to the opening of a subsidiary across the Atlantic for some.

Thanks to this à This presence, local structures obtained 17 CES awards, including 4 last year (record year) and 2 this year.
 

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