The grand stage for new home appliances and information technology (IT), 'CES 2025', will open from January 7th to 10th (local time) in Las Vegas, USA, a city like a dazzling jewel on the hot desert.

CES, which began as a small-scale home appliance event on June 24, 1967, with about 100 appliance companies and 17,000 visitors, has now established itself as the world’s largest home appliance and IT exhibition, and is expected to showcase its scale once again this year. According to the organizers, approximately 4,500 companies from 158 countries will participate in CES 2025, marking a 29% increase from last year and making it the largest event ever. About 600 Korean companies, including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, and SK, will also participate to demonstrate their technological prowess. In the pre-announced 'CES 2025 Innovation Awards', 129 out of 292 total award-winning companies were Korean, greatly raising expectations. In terms of proportion, Korean companies accounted for 44% of all winners. Among participating countries, Korea had the highest number of award-winning companies. Companies will showcase their flagship technologies at the Las Vegas Convention Center, which spans about 240,000 square meters. The exhibition is expected to attract around 140,000 visitors.

The main topic of the exhibition is undoubtedly artificial intelligence (AI). The Consumer Technology Association (CTA), which organizes the event, set the exhibition’s theme as 'Connect. Solve. Discover. DIVE IN', meaning to connect, solve, discover, and explore deeply through technology. The number of AI-related products showcased by companies has increased by more than 50% compared to last year. Companies are especially focusing on the 'connectivity' that AI offers, meaning the technology connects humans and devices. Various AI technologies, already widely used in many aspects of daily life, are ready to fill the exhibition hall.

Notable examples include 'agents'?AI that can independently make decisions and assist users?and 'on-device' AI models embedded in devices. Samjong KPMG predicts that 'AI agents' will be a main keyword at CES 2025, stating, "Based on advanced AI, the expansion of agent functions that minimize user intervention and provide services by integrating AI into various devices is expected." In addition, the convergence of healthcare and AI is another key technology to watch at this event. Products that combine wearable devices and AI to improve health management and convenience will be unveiled.

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Korean companies are also unveiling a wide range of products equipped with next-generation AI technologies. Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics will exhibit various products under their 'AI Home' strategies, which refer to AI technologies integrated into everyday life. Samsung Electronics will introduce screen appliances equipped with AI Home technology. Through the touchscreens installed on these products, users can remotely monitor and control all appliances connected to 'SmartThings'. The lineup includes the Bespoke refrigerator with a 9-inch touchscreen and the Bespoke washer and dryer, each with a 7-inch touchscreen. LG Electronics will showcase its flagship laptop, the new LG Gram. The new LG Gram provides AI services directly on the laptop without network connectivity via 'Gram Chat On-Device'. With the 'Time Travel' feature, even data accidentally deleted during work can be remembered and restored by AI. The 'AI Search' function allows users to find hard-to-locate documents or images in detail. LG Electronics will also exhibit the concept car 'MX Platform', which expands the AI Home experience to vehicles. This 'mobile personalized space' is created by combining AI appliances and IoT devices tailored to each customer’s lifestyle, extending the AI Home experience to cars.

SK Group will fill the exhibition hall with AI infrastructure technologies from SK Hynix and SK Telecom. SK Hynix is expected to showcase ultra-high-performance memory technologies such as High Bandwidth Memory (HBM). Attention is focused on whether the company will unveil the fifth-generation HBM, the 16-layer HBM3E product, and the sixth-generation HBM, HBM4, which are currently being developed and prepared for mass production as this year’s flagship products. SK Telecom will demonstrate its AI agent 'Aester' and reveal concrete service plans. The company will also present 'Scam Vanguard', an AI-based mobile financial fraud detection and prevention technology. Developed to respond to mobile financial scams delivered via text or calls, it helps counter potential threats through continuous learning.

Global AI leaders will also greet visitors at the exhibition. In particular, there is great interest in Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, who will open the event. On January 6th, the day before the official opening, he will be the first of six keynote speakers to take the stage. The first keynote speaker is often considered the face of that year’s event. The CTA reportedly selected Huang as the face of CES 2025, highlighting that this year’s event will be a showcase for the latest AI technologies. Nvidia commented, "From starting as a server at Denny’s to founding Nvidia, CEO Huang’s story symbolizes innovation and perseverance."

Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA. Photo by NVIDIA, Yonhap News Agency

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This will be the first time in eight years that Huang delivers a keynote at CES. In 2017, he took the stage as a keynote speaker and announced his vision for AI technology and market entry in front of many industry officials. In this year’s speech, he is expected to reveal progress on the next-generation AI accelerator Blackwell and the RTX 50 series GPU for PCs, as well as emphasize the impact of AI technology on our economy and society.

Huang is also expected to introduce many companies collaborating with Nvidia during his keynote, and there is speculation in the industry that SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won may join him on stage. Previously, at the 'AI Summit' hosted by SK Group at COEX in Seoul on November 4th last year, Huang discussed collaboration plans with SK via video message. Other keynote speakers include Julie Sweet, CEO of Accenture; Yuki Kusumi, CEO of Panasonic Holdings; Martin Lundstedt, CEO of Volvo Group; Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Air Lines; and Jennifer Witz, CEO of SiriusXM.