A bunch of tech companies are representing Philly at CES 2023

The global tech community is kicking off the new year in Las Vegas with CES 2023, aka the Consumer Electronics Show hosted by the Consumer Technology Association.

This event invites companies from around the world to present their products and connect with each other. A whopping 174 countries will be represented at the 2023 showcase, and 41 tech categories will be covered.

Among all of these attendees are a few companies local to Philly, including Stel Life, PTZOptics, Novabot, Lutron, rpod, BLOK and Audacy. Technical.ly asked these companies’ leaders about their goals for the week and how they plan to navigate such a huge event. Here’s what some of them said.

Stel Life

Sid Kandan, cofounder and CEO of medtech startup Stel Life, said the company’s reps will demo its tech “powering the Alexa, Google Home, and other speciality device ecosystems.” (Here’s why Stel Life pivoted to at-home connected devices early in the pandemic.)

This is the company’s first time at the CES, and Kandan is excited for it. The company is also a sponsor of the CES 2023 Digital Health Studio, where it will be “hosting leaders from health systems, Big Tech, digital health, and device companies that are finding success with Stel’s passive and secure connectivity standard.”

PTZOptics

Reps from PTZOptics will showcase the robotic video camera company’s Camera Management Platform at CES. This platform allows users to adjust their cameras and images and will be available for free download soon, according to Director of Marketing Paul Richards. The company will also debut the Studio Pro and the Move 4K, two new cameras that will be available for pre-order.

This is PTZOptics’ CES booth, but not the company’s first time at a trade show. Richards’ best advice for newcomers is to make a plan of everywhere you want to visit during the day, and bring a bag to collect materials for products and companies you want to remember to bring back to your colleagues.

“Attending CES for the first time, we’re simply looking to take it all in,” he said. “Not only are we excited to showcase our new products, but we’re eager to learn from others in the industry, find out where we can help fill gaps in consumer needs, and share what we’ve learned about the camera industry with other tech enthusiasts.”

rpod

rpod makes a soundproof “micro studio” for content creation — no longer gaming exclusively — per Dalton Carroll, cofounder and chief communications officer. This is the first time to company has been represented at CES and he’s looking forward to both networking with fellow entrepreneurs and connecting with potential new customers.

Carroll said the company recently rebranded from gamrpod and plans to unveil its newest rpod unit at the conference.

“We notice many of our clients have interests outside of gaming and we see many other use cases,” he said. “Our units help creators, gamers, students, podcasters, vloggers, editors, programmers, and workers etc. have a space to create. Rpod’s goal is to make content creation accessible to everyone.”

BLOK

BLOK, a “smart” cutting board company, will be showing its first production unit at CES this week, cofounder Tony Frick said.

“As an early stage startup that just started manufacturing, we are primarily interested in unfiltered user feedback from a likeminded tech community focused on innovation,” he said. “We also hope to meet face-to-face with potential investors with experience in connected kitchen devices that can support our commercialization efforts.”

Frick said the team hopes to learn as much as possible this week. As a first-time attendee, he received some simple advice: Keep presentations short and wear comfortable shoes.

Audacy

Audacy, the multi-platform audio content and entertainment company, is returning to CES this year for the second time to announce a new tech partnership, according to Paul Suchman, chief marketing officer.

Suchman said this year, the company plans to be strategic about focusing on connections with clients, creatives and its audience. Reps at CES plan to meet with agency, brand and tech partners to set up a strong Q1, despite speculation about a difficult year ahead.

“All decision makers across brands, across agencies, across platforms, across technology companies, are here,” he said. “And it’s really a way to invigorate and jumpstart the market for a robust 2023.”

Suchman’s advice for newcomers is to remember to take a minute to absorb everything on the convention floor, because at the end of the day, “CES is a celebration, of technology, of electronics, of things that make consumers lives better.”

Sarah Huffman is a 2022-2024 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Lenfest Institute for Journalism.