IEDC, Hoosier startups headed to CES trade show in Las Vegas

(Adobe Stock)

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. has selected eight startups from around the state to accompany the organization to the CES trade show in Las Vegas next week.

This will be the IEDC’s fourth consecutive year at CES, an annual event scheduled for Jan. 7-10. As it has done each of those four years, the IEDC will showcase the Indianapolis-based Indy Autonomous Challenge, which will stage an autonomous race car event Jan. 9 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as part of the CES event lineup.

And this marks the second year that the IEDC will be accompanied by a group of Indiana startups—last year, seven companies participated in the event.

Launched in 1967 and originally known as the Consumer Electronics Show, CES draws attendees from around the world. The 2024 gathering attracted more than 138,000 attendees, more than 40% of whom came from outside the U.S.

The IEDC’s exhibit space, which it is calling the Indiana Pavilion, will be in the Eureka Park area of CES, which is devoted to startups. In 2024, Eureka Park hosted 1,442 startups, providing a showcase for the companies to connect with potential customers, partners and investors.

The eight startups slated to attend CES with the IEDC are:

• Newberry-based Ateios Systems, whose technology enables battery manufacturing at lower cost, higher energy density and more environmentally friendly than traditional battery manufacturing;
• Indianapolis-based Davinci Wearables, which also attended CES with the IEDC in 2024 and offers an analytics platform to help women track their health biomarkers;
• Indianapolis-based Echo Tech.ai, which has developed an artificial intelligence-powered navigational system for power wheelchairs;
• South Bend-based Hearsight Inc., whose technology offers real-time speech-to-text transition via alternative reality glasses for people who are deaf and hard of hearing;
• Pendleton-based LEO Flight, which is developing electric-jet-powered flying cars;
• Newburgh-based Laxis Inc., which is launching an artificial intelligence-powered earbud that can do things like record, transcribe and summarize online meetings, phone calls and in-person conversations;
• Chesterton-based Plantennas, which has developed a biodegradable plant pot with embedded smart technology, and;
• Clarksville-based Wicked Technology, which has developed a smart mattress pad that can detect moisture and alert caregivers in real time.
• IEDC spokesman Nathan Brown said the IEDC is spending $84,000 on CES this year, which includes the cost of the exhibit space, staff travel costs and a Friends of Indiana reception for those with ties to the Hoosier state. (Indiana University Ventures is covering some of the costs of the reception as a sponsor of that event.)

The eight selected startups are responsible for covering their own travel and display costs for CES.

Brown said the IEDC invited startups to apply, sharing the application information both on the organization’s social media platforms and with partner organizations around the state. To qualify, a startup had to be a consumer technology or consumer-adjacent technology company, offer an innovative product or service that could have a profound impact on the market and have a product or service launched no earlier than Jan. 1, 2024, among other requirements.

In addition to the startups selected by the IEDC, several other Indiana companies are also slated to attend CES next week:

• Evansville-based CallerAlert LLC, which has developed a light-up beacon for alerting users to incoming smartphone calls.
• Princeton-based app and software development agency Eclisse. 
• Carmel-based Fitasy Inc., which uses 3-D printing to create customized shoes.
• Indianapolis-based Peak Mind, whose technology helps companies improve their employees’ mental well-being.
• Carmel-based security products company Schlage Lock Co. LLC, which is part of Allegion Plc.
• Indianapolis-based Specialty Coating Systems Inc., which makes coatings used in medical devices, electronics and other industries.
• Nashville-based Wave Therapeutics, which has developed a smart wheelchair cushion that helps prevent pressure sores.