CES 2026: Regional Innovators Disrupt US Tech Scene

But Las Vegas is also, every year for four days, the host city of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) which brings together companies and professionals…

But Las Vegas is also, every year for four days, the host city of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) which brings together companies and professionals from around the world around the technologies that will shape our daily lives tomorrow.

“Back to achieve what we have difficulty accomplishing here: Raising funds” (SQ Motors-Sternboard – 33)

New Aquitaine promises innovation to visitors. As every year for ten years, the Regional Council has indeed facilitated the participation of innovative start-ups in this reputation and business accelerator, by setting up a delegation, the “TeamNAqui” (New Aquitaine Team).

An “accelerator” that Édouard Aubert and Adrien Ladan already know well. These Bordeaux residents have already faced the frenzy of CES to present the tech “jewel” of their company SQ Motors, the Sternboard, or “Stern” for enthusiasts of this electric, all-terrain, three-wheel skateboard. “It was in 2025 and if we went there more to surprise the public with our machine and attract visitors to the startups in our region than for business, this first presence changed the life of our company,” explains Édouard Aubert.

The CES to confirm, Canada to conquer

“The interest of investors and distributors in our board acted as an eye-opener. We are going back to succeed in what we have difficulty accomplishing in France: raising 200,000 to 300,000 euros to ensure the acceleration of our production,” adds Adrien Ladan. For the young Bordeaux company, which now has eight employees and which has sold 120 of its all-terrain three-wheel skateboards in 2025, the CES represents a heavy investment: 25,000 euros. “But the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region reduces the bill by 7,000 euros,” underline the managers of SQ Motors who, following an economic mission organized by the Region in Quebec, plan to commercially implement the Stern among our cousins. “Options such as the track on the rear wheel and the skids for the front wheels, allowing you to slide on the snow, have made an impression and Quebec represents an ideal entry point for the entire North American market,” concedes Édouard Aubert.

“The United States is essential but there is no question of leaving France! » (Hope Valley AI – 17)

This United States market is a must for Hakima Berdouz, former atomic engineering engineer at the Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) and doctor in applied mathematics, and her Rochelle medical startup Hope Valley AI. If in Las Vegas its appointment book with investors and health professionals from around the world is jam-packed, the future of its application for risk prediction and very early detection of breast cancer (between twelve months and five years in advance), assisted by AI (artificial intelligence), will undoubtedly pass through the east coast of the United States. Indeed, on January 13, Hope Valley AI will settle in Boston and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Las Vegas and especially Boston to win the race for profitability

“CES is very important to us. It will allow us to enter into direct contact with many doctors, but it is in Boston that health establishments will make available to us, free of charge. [contrairement aux CHU français, NDLR]millions of genetic data that will allow us to train our AI. It is in Boston that we will gain time in our race for profitability,” assures Hakima Berdouz.

Across the Atlantic, Hope Valley AI will be able to obtain FDA (Food and Drug Administration) authorization which will open the United States market to it in six to nine months. In Europe, the equivalent, CE marking, will take two to three years… per country.