Lighthouse Tech demos its first product at CES Las Vegas

Lighthouse Tech, a startup incubated at USI Startup Centre, was one of the 24 selected Swiss startups to showcase their innovative solution as part of the SwissTech pavilion at the 2023 edition of one of the largest global consumer electronics exhibitions.

Held every year in Las Vegas, CES is a consumer electronics fair organised by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). The event reunites over 3200 exhibitors covering over 40 technology categories, from artificial intelligence to 5G to health tech. It is a place where the most prominent brands like Google, Microsoft and Sony present their cutting-edge technology but also a platform for startups like Lighthouse Tech to showcase their innovative solutions. At CES 2023, the team demonstrated their first product - LTH01. It is an eyewear frame for blind and vision impaired people that detects obstacles in their path, helping them safely move around on foot.

The startup, founded in 2020 in Ticino and currently incubated at USI Startup Centre, was one of the 24 Swiss startups selected to be part of the SwissTech pavilion, an initiative supported by Presence Switzerland, Innosuisse, the swissnex network, digitalswitzerland and Switzerland Global Enterprise. Its main goal is to spotlight the best Swiss Made technology at the most relevant global tech events and to raise Switzerland’s profile as a world-leading innovative location for business. Nathan Deutsch, Chief Operations Officer and Innovation Lead, was very positive about the overall experience and the SwissTech pavilion:

“CES is a venue for products in the making and people are looking for innovations. From that perspective, it was spot on for us. In addition, being part of the SwissTech pavilion allowed us to benefit from a lot of media attention and significant traffic to our stand. The team behind it did a great job.”

From a startup perspective, international exhibitions like CES are a unique opportunity to get access to all the leading players in their industry, meet key people, make connections, expand their network and meet potential investors. Another benefit mentioned by Nathan is customer feedback:

“We also gathered useful feedback on our product as many visitors tried it directly at the stand. One of them was Matt Ater, the chairman of the CTA Foundation, which supports programmes that improve the lives of seniors and people with disabilities. These conversations contribute to product validation as we prepare for the official market launch.”

Nathan’s advice to other startups that plan to participate in similar global events is to be bold, make sure to have somebody with a lot of charisma at the booth, set clear objectives, prepare beforehand and leverage this opportunity to establish strategic connections. 
 

Watch a short video with the SwissTech pavilion highlights here.