Ces 2021, the Italian startup patrol

The interview with the President of the Ice Agency, Carlo Ferro and an overview of the realities present

(Photo: Pixabay) "The all-digital edition of Ces 2021 brings great regret and great satisfaction", Carlo Ferro, president of ICE, the agency for the promotion of Italian companies, told us. In fact, due to the global emergency of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was not possible to continue with the original program of doubling the number of Italian startups participating in the Consumer Electronics Show year by year.

However, this entire edition digital has done nothing but accelerate processes already underway for some time and the realities of the Bel Paese have proved ready. From 25 appearances in 2018 to 46 last year, Ces 2021 was originally supposed to host as many as 100 Italian startups. The unpredictable pandemic shuffled all the cards on the table, but despite this, the Ice Agency managed to increase participation compared to 2020, rising to 53.

"Patience, we will postpone for a year - continued the President Ferro -

What I see positive is that digital issues as a tool for responding to business difficulties and interpersonal relationships have brought extremely significant examples and initiatives.

We have 53 virtual stands that give rise to b2b meetings with supply chain operators and investors in sectors ranging from virtual or augmented reality to artificial intelligence, but also cloud computing, e-commerce, internet of things and so on. Street. We have put together a beautiful showcase “.

An all-digital edition is the best response to the needs of 2021, but at the same time brings a series of changes that are not new at all. "I have a conviction, these needs come from before the pandemic emergence. The digitization of exhibition systems is an opportunity to extend the network activity and business relationships created at the fair to 365 days a year ". The most shining example is the Fiera Smart 365 platform, made available by the Ice Agency to maintain contact with foreign counterparties and to share content remotely. "In the hope that everything will return to normal, these systems will remain an important amplifier and speaker during the days of the fair and will also be able to go beyond the event, to enhance relationships".

The Italian startups present at Ces 2021 cover all areas, including the most current ones such as augmented, virtual or mixed reality with Ar Market dedicated to education and work or Dilium Smart Mirror to stay informed about one's health . Artificial intelligence is represented by four startups such as Revelis Ai-Guard which proposes a software solution to detect social distancing and the use of the mask.

In the very hot segment of Smart Cities and Resilience there is evway by Route220 with its recently updated application that offers a complete service for electric drivers from planning the trip to exploring the territory. Well-known names appear in cloud computing such as Cubbit which offers distributed and secure cloud storage while the most represented sector is the Internet of Things with 12 companies.

“Today we are responding to a critical issue, - says President Ferro - but we are also preparing something that will benefit businesses in the future. Interventions to support businesses must be inspired by a good balance between reaction and vision. Reaction is what is needed to restart from an emergency situation, ensuring Italian companies are ready to start again from where they left off. The vision is to help them position themselves on models of international trade and competition on markets that were already changing ".

And after Ces? “There will be the Biotech of San Francisco, another all digital event, we will continue in our support work for the Italian initiatives at the venture capital system around the world”.