What happened in Vegas for CES

Tech traditionally starts the year on an upbeat note, with the CES consumer electronics show in Las Vegas revealing new trends and displaying the bling of “the next big things” in gadgets to look forward to in the coming months.

However, the mood is anything but optimistic at the start of this week, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq entering correction territory as growth stocks take a hit from an expected rise in interest rates, while a much-reduced CES ended in low-key fashion on Friday.

Attendance was way down — about 45,000 people came compared to 170,000 at the Covid-free 2020 CES (the show was an online-only event a year ago). Many tech companies had pulled out, while numerous media outlets decided to cover the show remotely.

#techFT ignored it entirely, as the newsletter and this correspondent took an extended break over Christmas, after many years of tramping the packed convention halls. Viewing the photos of sparsely attended booths and uncrowded aisles this year, this looks as if it could have been an almost enjoyable experience to attend in 2022.

Monitoring the coverage, it was clear that the car industry is continuing to target CES for some of its biggest announcements, as chips and tech become of ever-increasing importance for the automobile.

Sony’s chief executive announced that it would launch a new company to “explore entry” into the electric-vehicle market, with a Sony Mobility subsidiary opening in the spring. BMW showed off a car wrapped in E Ink technology that could change its colour at the touch of a button, while Mercedes-Benz revealed an electric car with a range of 620 miles, boosted by solar panels on its roof.

As for the gadgets, we will look at the best of them during the course of this week in Tech Tools below, starting with Withings’ new Body Scan.

The Internet of (Five) Things

1. Take-Two takes out Zynga
Take-Two Interactive, the video game publisher that owns the popular Grand Theft Auto franchise, has agreed a $12.7bn deal to buy mobile gaming specialist Zynga, the maker of FarmVille and Words with Friends. The aim is to compete better with Activision Blizzard and EA, which have also been buying new assets to expand their mobile offerings.

2. New Oriental lays off 60 per cent of staff
Chinese online tutoring company New Oriental has fired 60,000 employees since Beijing banned the $100bn-a-year private education industry from making a profit, the group’s founder said. Yu Minhong said it had laid off about 60 per cent of its workforce but “the company managed to survive and preserve some strength”. New Oriental has also lost 90 per cent of its market value since the ban.

3. China tech stocks rally 
In contrast to the Nasdaq’s performance, Chinese tech stocks rallied earlier on Monday after starting the year with a week of sharp falls. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Tech index gained as much as 2.5 per cent, with Alibaba Health Information Technology rising as much as 14 per cent and short-video platform Kuaishou’s Hong Kong-listed shares advancing 12.2 per cent.

4. Gates-backed fund aims $15bn at clean tech 
A Bill Gates-backed private-public fund is preparing to invest in clean-tech projects worth as much as $15bn in the US, EU and UK. Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, which has raised $1.5bn in private capital from philanthropy and companies, will invest in four key areas: direct air capture, green hydrogen, aviation fuel and energy storage technologies.

5. LG to take on CATL for battery leadership
LG Energy Solution, the world’s second-largest electric-vehicle battery maker, is preparing to raise $11bn in one of South Korea’s largest listings as it battles Chinese rivals to dominate the market. The supplier to Tesla, Ford and Volkswagen plans to use the proceeds of the initial public offering to take on Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), the world’s biggest global battery group valued at more than $196bn.

Tech tools — Withings Body Scan

Withings led the way in smart scales over a decade ago and it is aiming to stay ahead of the competition with its Body Scan product. It adds a retractable handle you can raise and grip to be monitored by four electrodes for medical-grade six-lead ECG heart and body composition analysis. These are complemented by four weight sensors and 14 electrodes in the scale itself. Year-long battery life is promised and there is a larger, high resolution 3.2-inch colour screen to display stats, which are also available in the obligatory app. Body Scan will be available in the second half in black or white, with the price yet to be announced.