The Consumer Electronics Show, or CES, in Las Vegas is primarily a B2C event by name. However, it continually surprises with innovations and new developments that play a role in the B2B environment and thus for businesses. The best example is the topic of AI, which will also dominate in 2025.

CES 2025 was even more focused on artificial intelligence and particularly generative AI than in previous years. Germany, as one of the “leading research and development locations worldwide,” as Federal Digital Minister Volker Wissing put it, can certainly keep up.

Wissing had reason to celebrate in Las Vegas in early January 2025, as Germany received the Innovation Champions Award as one of 25 countries. Germany scored particularly well in the categories of “general freedom,” “startup friendliness,” and “openness to autonomous driving.”

Autonomous Driving “Made in Germany”

As a shining example of German innovation, Wissing praised the Berlin-based Vay Technology GmbH, which develops solutions for “teleoperation” of electric vehicles and has already received approvals in Hamburg since 2022 and in Las Vegas in 2024. Volkswagen, for its part, unveiled in Las Vegas, together with Mobileye, the launch of the fully autonomous ride-sharing service of its subsidiary Moia, which is set to debut in Hamburg with up to 10,000 vehicles by the end of the decade.

The German supplier Continental also presented a side window that can be fully darkened when installed in the rear and serves as a screen to, for example, make the long journey to the holiday destination more enjoyable for children.

In the automotive sector, German carmaker BMW also shone. The Munich-based company introduced a new, freely configurable cockpit called “Panoramic iDrive,” which spans the entire underside of the console and also provides driving instructions via a head-up display.

Micro-Electromobility and Farming 4.0

In the realm of mobility, the US startup Glydways, in collaboration with Suzuki, has developed an urban transportation system designed to operate on its own lane within an urban network. According to Suzuki Media Switzerland and heise, this system could also serve as a micro-mobility solution for electric wheelchairs, albeit on a smaller scale. The robo-vehicles that Suzuki has developed with Applied EV for use in designated areas also offer significant benefits to industry, aiming to address the shortage of drivers. Additionally, the CES 2025 saw announcements for the LM-A automatic delivery robots from LOMBY and the snow-clearing drone v3 from everblue Technologies.

The American agricultural machinery manufacturer John Deere demonstrated at the CES that autonomous driving is not limited to individual transport and public transit. The company aims to tackle the challenge of feeding over ten billion people by 2050 amidst a shrinking agricultural workforce through Farming 4.0 initiatives. According to heise, John Deere’s solution for fully autonomous driving includes stereocameras and lidar sensors. These technologies enable tractors to precisely detect objects in their path and take over when GPS navigation fails under dense foliage.

Solar Windows and Super-AI for Everyone

Chipmaker NVIDIA, meanwhile, has demonstrated its leadership in the field of AI and is also focusing on robots and self-driving vehicles. CEO Jensen Huang additionally unveiled a super-AI computer in a desktop format. Dubbed “Project Digits”, it aims to enable virtually any user to contribute to the development of AI software, thereby accelerating the process. Zeiss, specifically Zeiss Microoptics, brought the idea of generating energy with window glass to life in Las Vegas. The so-called “Solar Window” panes feature a micro-optically structured film in the glass that redirects a portion of the sunlight onto solar cells. This film is 95 percent transparent to allow sufficient light into the room. Indeed, as reported by heise, one had to look closely to spot the slightly shimmering film in the glass.