Record number of startups at CES 2024 – but why?

In a exclusive briefing shortly before CES 2024 began, Gary Shapiro – President of the Consumer Technology Association, which organises CES – mentioned that this year’s event included more than 1,400 startup companies. A record. So, we asked him, what was behind this drive? Why now?

“Startups are in our culture and DNA,” replied Shapiro. “Since I started with the organisation, Eureka Park [the hall dedicated to startups from around the world] is an area where it’s extremely high value because it’s not that expensive… it’s an opportunity that exists like no other.”

That value was amplified in 2022, when – in the face of the Omicron virus – CES went ahead despite the absence of the traditional big names. “A lot of bigger companies didn’t show, and the most appreciative, happy and thankful were the startup exhibitors and other global exhibitors who said this is so important for us,” said Shapiro.

Related reading: CES 2024: Business tech trends

Opportunities for startups at CES

This begs one question: why is CES so valuable for startups? “Nowhere else in the world [do you] have access to so much media, so many potential investors, partners, retailers, distributors, people who make a difference in your company getting feedback,” Shapiro said.

“If I were a startup, I would love to be at Eureka Park because you’re guaranteed to meet thousands of people. It’s exhausting for them… but the feedback they get is unprecedented.”

American companies have an added incentive: the presence of judges from the popular TV show Shark Tank, which gives entrepreneurs the chance to invest with new companies. “The judges are there,” said Shapiro. “They’re coming here, they’re having contests, looking at who they can talk to see if they should have people on.”

Why this year for startups?

So that’s the question of why CES is a great location for startups. However, that’s been true for many years. What is it about 2024 that means record numbers of new tech companies showing their wares.

“I can’t actually draw up a specific answer of why this year,” admitted Shapiro. “But sometimes things just happen because they build up over time.”

Perhaps some of it is pent-up demand, however. The past three years have shaken up economies around the world, with many people inspired to do start up on their own.

And perhaps some of it is the startups repaying the favour to CES for carrying on in the face of Covid when so many trade shows didn’t.