At CES, Poland hypes its tech scene

Walk around Eureka Park at CES and you’ll see thousands of startups from all over the world. Often, exhibitors are grouped by category or region of origin with the major players – US, China, South Korea, France – occupying large portions of the floor room.

Poland isn’t yet one of those major players – after all, it was represented by only ten companies – but that small contingent represents a lot of intent, particularly in the green transition movement, where half of them operate in one capacity or the other.

Take Simple H2. It’s the first Polish company to produce electrolysers, which are needed for green hydrogen. On a related note, Saule Technologies produces solar cells, while SYDRON and Lars Lighting are both coming up with products that are a greener alternative to what already exists.

SEEDiA’s offering, meanwhile, is entirely centred on helping smart cities become greener.

This was the first year the country had a pavilion on the show floor and, speaking to a representative from its trade agency, it’s clear that the country is bullish about its role as a tech scene. Our brief conversation is below, edited for clarity.

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Could you please introduce yourself and the organisation?

I’m Paulina Mięczkowska-Licon, and I’m a Business Development Manager with the Polish Investment and Trade Agency, a Polish government agency whose role is to promote Polish businesses abroad.

We have over 50 offices around the world, four of them being in the United States, in Houston, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. We’re at CES together with ten Polish exhibitors.

What are your goals for CES this year?

The main goal for the Polish companies exhibiting is to make new connections and find business partners, investors and mentors. As for the Polish Investment and Trade Agency, our role is to promote the Polish brand, so that’s also something we’re hoping to achieve.

What is the tech scene like in Poland? Any challenges for 2024?

The Polish tech scene is definitely flourishing. We are basically the European tech hub. We have lots and lots of tech companies doing extremely well – businesses looking for innovative tech solutions should look no further.

As for 2024, we are looking forward to the opportunities it might bring.