Intel, Others Announce Switch to Virtual for CES 2022 Due to COVID-19

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Image: CES

The recent surge of COVID-19 in the U.S. is causing many to rethink their presence at CES 2022 in Las Vegas. Intel has announced it will largely be switching to virtual.

Dec. 23, 2021 Update: The health and safety of Intel employees, partners and customers is always a top priority. After consulting with health officials and in the spirit of Intel’s safety policy, Intel’s plans for CES will move to a digital-first live experience, with minimal on-site staff. Intel’s leaders encourage you to join as the company delivers all its CES content and experiences virtually via the Intel Newsroom.

Others have also announced they will not be attending at all or switching to virtual, including Lenovo, which stated it was suspending all on-site activity at the event.

Self-driving car manufacturer Waymo is switching over to virtual as well.

UPDATE, December 23, 2021: Based on quickly rising COVID-19 infection rates, Waymo has made the difficult decision not to participate in person at CES 2022. We are aiming to still virtually participate in some CES-related events. In particular, as part of our Self-Driven Women series, our co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana and our Global Head of Public Policy Michelle Peacock will speak at several virtual panel discussions with the Female Quotient, the official equality partner of CES 2022.

The safety and wellbeing of our team is top of mind for us and informed this tough decision. Going forward, once this most recent surge is under control, our team will continue to build out impactful, engaging, and safe events so that our key audiences and stakeholders can experience Waymo.

General Motors will be switching to an all-digital presentation. This is surprising, as CEO Mary Barra had planned to give a keynote speech with a reveal of the all-new Chevy Silverado EV.

We have decided to move to an all-digital approach with our activation at CES 2022 in January. CES is an important technology platform, and we are continuing with our plans on January 5 to share our significant company news including the reveal of the Chevrolet Silverado EV.

T-Mobile shared it will no longer be attending but remains a sponsor for it and the DRL Championship Race. CEO Mike Sievert has canceled his keynote speech.

After careful consideration and discussion, T-Mobile has made the difficult decision to significantly limit our in-person participation at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. While we are confident that CES organizers are taking exhaustive measures to protect in-person attendees and we had many preventative practices in place as well, we are prioritizing the safety of our team and other attendees with this decision. T-Mobile will continue to serve as a CES sponsor and title sponsor of the DRL Championship Race but the vast majority of our team will not be traveling to Las Vegas. Additionally, T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert will no longer be offering a keynote in-person or virtually. T-Mobile’s entire team looks forward to an in-person CES 2023, which we hope includes an on-stage keynote in front of a live audience. We extend our sincere thanks to the entire CES staff for their hard work during these challenging times.

Companies No Longer Attending

  • Amazon
  • AT&T
  • Facebook/Meta
  • General Motors
  • Google
  • Hisense
  • Intel
  • iHeartRadio
  • Lenovo
  • Pinterest
  • T-Mobile
  • TikTok
  • Twitter
  • Waymo

Media Outlets No Longer Attending

  • CNET
  • Engadget
  • TechCrunch
  • TechRadar
  • Tom’s Guide

“While we recently received 42 exhibitor cancellations (less than 7% of our exhibit floor), since last Thursday, we’ve added 60 new exhibitors for our in-person event,” The Verge was told. AMD, LG, NVIDIA, Samsung, and Sony will be there with a reduced presence. Some are considering a hybrid approach by alternating virtual and in-person events to reduce potential exposure to the virus.

Source: The Verge

Peter Brosdahl
As a child of the 70’s I was part of the many who became enthralled by the video arcade invasion of the 1980’s. Saving money from various odd jobs I purchased my first computer from a friend of my dad, a used Atari 400, around 1982. Eventually it would end up being a lifelong passion of upgrading and modifying equipment that, of course, led into a career in IT support.

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