Which Companies are Really Disrupting at CES?

(By Buzz Knight) “The reason why it is so difficult for existing firms to capitalize on disruptive innovations is that their processes and their business model that make them good at the existing business actually make they bad at competing for the disruption.”

Those are the words of the brilliant late American, academic and business consultant Clayton Christensen, and they are a perfect backdrop to the questions on the innovation cycle at CES 2023, which is in full swing.

I, like many of you, hoped that innovation would thrive over these last few years of pandemic uncertainty, supply chain challenges and labor shortages. So much for the kitchen sink being thrown at multiple industries as a way to short circuit the innovation process.

So what is the innovation scorecard this year in my view? Walking the various convention floors, a few themes emerge:

International Innovators seem to be more present than previous years.
Small startups were present all over Eureka Park (The CES location most populated with startups and incubators). Countries of note represented were:

• India
• Belgium
• Switzerland
• France
• Romania
• Germany
• Korea
• Canada

And I’m sure there were more.

These startups were focused on digital health, electric vehicle technology and Smart Home solutions, and one has to wonder if these countries are sensing greater opportunities in this country than their own. Do these countries sense the U.S. talent vulnerability that has occurred these last few years? This is definitely an area to watch.

The Electric Vehicle (EV) category is exploding with innovation. Innovation in the truest sense is born out of solving a particular pain point problem, and clearly with the rise of EV this has elevated innovators to keep up with the race.

Charging products were all over the place at The West Hall of The Convention Center including:

Freewire: “Powering the Electric Revolution”

Their mission is to unlock ”ultrafast” EV charging through energy storage and optimization.” Notice the “ultrafast” branding, as they are innovating by solving the pain point of lengthy charging stations.

Ultium-Charge 360: “An integration of networks, products and services that promise the best charging experience for General Motors owners.”

GM as you might remember planted the EV flag a few years ago and is continuing to drive innovation in this category.

Autonomy seems to have cooled in the consumer sector, but there is innovation occurring in the commercial truck fleet sector and in another area that needs some pain point solution: the agriculture business.

As labor shortages and supply chain issues choke many businesses, the farming side needs innovation to continue to produce and compete. John Deere was on full display at CES 2023 debuting a new Robot Planter that they say could slash Fertilizer use by 60% and a new electric excavator. This coupled with a fully autonomous tractor means we will see the farm of the future be completely based on technology instead of manpower.

Digital Health, as previously mentioned in other posts from this week, is rapidly expanding and definitely innovating. These last few years of the pandemic have accelerated consumer awareness of digital health tracking and have also fueled the need for these solutions. These are not in lieu of doctor’s visits, but as a supportive supplement. The Apple Watch has been a leader with ECG monitor and fall detection, and many other products and services have followed suit.

Hearables is a new category that has emerged as “ear tech” provides accurate measurement of health and well-being. It’s smart of so many companies in the digital health sector, maximizing their targeting of an aging population, in need of health solutions with a healthcare system in our country that is clearly broken.

So what business categories are lacking in innovation growth these last few years?

Home entertainment seems to look very similar every year. In my humble opinion, I can only see so many 88 inch OLED 8K TV’s each year. They are dazzling and beautiful, but it is hard to distinguish a point of differentiation between companies and product offerings. And what is the true innovation “pain point” that is being solved?

The Automotive category seems like they are throwing the kitchen sink at consumers in a race for a value proposition-other than EV. Mercedes is to be applauded for continuing to adhere to their elegant brand proposition by making an incredible in car user experience. They have a “Hey Mercedes” intelligent voice control experience along with an integration of a customer’s own account with their Smart Home provider via their Mercedes’ me account.

It’s so great for CES to be back in full force to showcase innovation of all types.
I hope this can be an even greater catalyst to new ideas and new “pain point” solutions.

One more thought from Mr. Christensen: “An innovation will get traction only if it helps people get something that they’re already doing in their lives done better.”