Dear Industry Board Members,

I had a great week at CES in Las Vegas. Compared to last year, this year's CES was more practical. 

A couple of themes and products that stood out the most:

“Longevity” is replacing “Health Tech”

The conversations clearly moved beyond fitness tracking. CES felt much more about longevity, AgeTech, and how people actually live as they age. The focus shifted to infrastructure for aging in place, accessibility, and continuous medical-grade monitoring. 

The mental health pod

It was hard to miss the Reconcept pod that tips you backwards to a zero gravity position, gives you a massage, and plays bird song. It was even harder to get out of it and back to the busy conference floor.

The French company Reconcept says the zero-gravity position can reduce muscular strain and aid deep relaxation.

Another French company stealing the health show is yet again Withings.

It launched a smart scale that can measure up to 60 health metrics and boasts countless benefits. The Withings Body Scan 2 can check hypertension, cardiac efficiency and reactivity, metabolic efficiency and more.

Physical AI and humanoid robotics

LG’s CLOiD, Unitree, and Atlas by Boston Dynamics still look like demos, but with clear progress from the previous year. 

Faster movement. Better balance. More autonomy.

What’s interesting is not how impressive it looks, but how normal it’s starting to feel😄.

They still need more real-world context and experience to be truly useful, but that’s often the signal that a category is crossing from R&D into reality.

Something Funny

The scariest robots at CES weren’t the ones fighting or working.

It was this one “resting.”

So… who’s in charge of the laundry? 😄

Samsung had a popular booth at CES 2026 with its newly introduced spatial signage.

Retail, airports, offices… this feels like the quiet beginning of a new interface layer.Screens that react, instead of just displaying.

Razer’s Project Ava - 3d Hologram companion stood out for a different reason.

PC and peripherals maker Razer believes that somebody, somewhere, is desperate to put an anime cat girl on their desk, like their personal imprisoned Tinkerbell who’s forced to compliment them on command. 

The company’s Project Ava includes either a female waifu or male husbando hologram housed inside a glass jar that uses conversational AI to talk to users... 🤯

Meta continues to push boundaries with new Ray-Ban smart glasses using EMG-based controls.

You don’t tap, swipe, or speak. The device reads subtle muscle signals, even handwriting motion,s and responds.

It sounds futuristic, but the ambition is very grounded: reduce friction between intention and action.

Feels like one of those shifts we won’t fully notice… until it becomes normal.

Roborock unveiled the world’s first robotic vacuum with wheel-leg architecture

It sounds like a concept, but Roborock's legged Saros Rover was fully operational at CES and it climbed stairs without missing a spot.

LEGO introduced its Smart Play system!

LEGO’s Smart Play initiative blends physical bricks with digital intelligence, adapting challenges based on how kids interact.

iPolish introduced smart nails that change colour

Color-changing smart nails were one of CES’s most talked-about curiosities.

At first glance, it feels playful. Almost gimmicky. But the technology is powered by electrophoretic nanopolymers, controlled via an app on an Android or iPhone, and administered using an activation device.

Key Trends in Biotech

Biotech is entering a new phase defined by customization and optimization.

MIT Technology Review highlights three developments shaping 2026:

• Personalized gene editing is moving from one-off cases to repeatable treatments for rare diseases.

• De-extinction efforts are stitching genes from extinct species into living animals.

• IVF clinics are expanding embryo screening beyond disease risk toward probabilistic trait scoring.

Lab-grown skin is quietly moving from experimental science into real-world care.

A tragic fire at a Swiss ski resort is pushing something quietly important forward in biotech.

Surgeons are treating burn survivors with denovoSkin, a personalized, lab-grown skin graft developed at the University of Zurich.

It’s grown from a patient’s own cells, scaled from a tiny biopsy into large grafts in just weeks, and designed to grow with the body while reducing scarring.

Late-stage trials are already showing better healing and improved scar quality than standard care.

It’s sobering… and a bit hopeful to see how real progress often shows up this way: not in headlines, but in moments when it truly matters.

🚀 What’s New at Prelaunch.com

Prelaunch was one of the sponsors of the Insights Lighthouse conference at CES.

It was truly amazing to spend time with such bright-minded insights and innovation leaders. The conversations around the future and innovation were deeply inspiring.

That’s all for this month. As always, curious to hear what signals you’re seeing from your side.

Until next time,