For Chinese companies, the belief is that lowering prices and adding more AI features will encourage people to wear smart glasses all day, capturing their lives with continuous video and audio. "If you bring the price down to around $200, people will start using them daily," says Brian Chen, general manager of Appotronics’ innovation center. This shift raises clear privacy and security concerns, which both Rokid and Appotronics acknowledge, but they view the potential rewards as worth the risk.
From Vacuums to Cars
Several major Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers, including Geely and Great Wall Motor, showcased their models at CES, but the spotlight was on two lesser-known brands: Nebula Next and Kosmera. Both unveiled sleek, luxurious electric sports car prototypes that aren’t on the market yet. They have ties to Dreame, a leading Chinese robot vacuum company, but insist they operate independently. At CES, however, the conference directory linked the stalls of Nebula Next and Kosmera to Dreame.
Despite the confusion over corporate ties, a robot vacuum company venturing into electric vehicles isn’t as far-fetched as it seems. It illustrates how Chinese electronics firms are leveraging their manufacturing expertise to produce cars. For instance, the founder of Roborock, another vacuum brand, started an EV company in 2023, and Xiaomi launched its first electric vehicle in 2024.
Dreame isn’t the only Chinese company moving from electronics to EVs, says Lei Xing, an independent car market analyst and former chief editor of China Auto Review, who checked out Kosmera’s prototypes with me at CES. China’s advanced supply chain, engineering talent, and manufacturing capabilities make it easier for newcomers to attempt car production, Xing explains, though only a few will find success. Others might end up like Apple, whose long-standing car project ultimately fizzled out. "Life and death will be a natural outcome," Xing notes.
Robovans Are Coming
During my visit to China last year, I tried Baidu’s robotaxi service, which is roughly on par with Alphabet’s Waymo in the U.S. What really caught my eye was the number of autonomous parcel delivery vehicles roaming the streets alongside my robotaxi.
Neolix is a leading Chinese company making both the hardware and software for robovans. They claim their deployments are growing roughly tenfold each year, reaching about 10,000 by 2025. (For comparison, Waymo has about 2,500 cars operating in the U.S.) Neolix asserts it represents over 60% of the market, with no significant global competitors, according to Zhao You, the company’s executive president. Neolix showcased three of its vehicles at CES, ranging from the size of a mini-fridge to a golf cart: small, windowless boxes on oversized wheels, devoid of drivers.
Neolix plans to expand internationally and has pilot projects in the Middle East, East Asia, and Latin America, with an eye on the American market. Zhao acknowledges that any self-driving company in the U.S. will confront intense scrutiny regarding safety and data security, but he hopes to collaborate with local partners to navigate compliance. "As a tech company, working with one cloud service provider for any market is the most affordable option, but it won’t work. You have to engage with local regulators and find out which cloud providers they approve," Zhao explains.
Generating Viral Videos
When OpenAI launched Sora 2 last year, it made an ambitious move, betting that generative AI could become a content genre powerful enough to sustain a social media platform. While that vision hasn’t fully realized yet, I met with two AI video companies at CES that are vying for a spot alongside OpenAI’s Sora.
Kling is the AI division of Kuaishou, a very popular Chinese short-video platform. The Kling app and website together boast over 60 million registered users, most of whom are outside China. About 100 people attended Kling’s panel at CES, featuring the platform’s power users. Jason Zada, an award-winning director known for Coca-Cola’s controversial 2024 AI-generated holiday ad, shared that he recently used Kling to create a YouTube video featuring a fireplace, where Santa, turkeys, astronauts, and snowmen made unexpected appearances. Zada explained he generated over 600 clips with Kling and stitched them together for the final 105-minute video, which cost around $2,500 in token credits.
