An emnify perspective from the show floor
For decades, CES has turned Las Vegas into a focal point for the global technology industry, uniting the world’s brightest technology luminaries to pioneer new developments and tackle some of the most complex challenges shaping our future.
Spanning more than two million square feet and bringing together roughly 150,000 people and thousands of exhibitors, it’s a place where mind and body are activated to absorb technology and innovation all at once.
I came to CES 2026 to represent emnify and our Power On. Connected promise — our belief that connectivity should exist from the very first moment a device is born. Factory-first connectivity is not just a technical shift; it is a mindset. It says the future does not start when a product ships. It starts when it is powered on for the very first time.
As emnify’s Co-founder and CEO, Frank Stoecker often explains, devices need a reliable way to access a network. emnify provides that foundational layer, much like power, enabling devices to communicate seamlessly with backend applications and stay always on and connected, wherever they are in the world.
That philosophy shows up most clearly at the very beginning of a device’s life. As Martin Giess, emnify’s Co-founder and Founding CTO, explains, connectivity is already embedded in the factory. It can be tested and validated, and it comes with a single-SKU SIM card that can be embedded into these devices. Later, throughout the device’s lifetime in the field, it can still be customized, while emnify connectivity remains a constant fallback and lifeline.
That perspective is exactly what brought us to the IoT section in the North Hall. Surrounded by devices already operating in the real world, we showed how connectivity is no longer something added later, but something built in from the start.
Physical AI in motion - Unitree Robotics' humanoid robots at CES 2026.
Walking into CES felt like stepping into a living, breathing map of human imagination. Across a space so vast it felt like its own world, filled with people, languages, ideas, and ambition, innovation was not just being discussed. It was being deployed. The future was not framed as a concept or a keynote slide. It was operational, physical and everywhere.
You could hear it, touch it, watch it move. And it moved a lot.
Robots rolled by - cleaning pools, mowing grass, folding laundry. Others boxed in rings, drawing crowds who cheered like it was a heavyweight title match. Autonomous machines navigated complex spaces with quiet confidence. Drones hovered with precision. A vending machine spun sugar into fresh cotton candy on demand. A 3D mouse let me shape digital and physical space with my hands, like sculpting light itself.
Talking to Colin Gallacher, President and Co-founder of Haply.
This was not technology behind glass. It was technology in motion.
AI, in particular, felt different this year. Less theoretical. Less abstract. It had weight. It had arms and wheels and sensors. What many called physical AI showed up not as a promise, but as a presence. The shift from digital transformation to intelligent transformation was not something you had to imagine. You could walk right up to it.
Petting the robot dog at CES 2026
For all the scale and sophistication on display, the moment that stayed with me most was unexpectedly small.
It happened when I met a robot dog.
Out of curiosity, I held out my hand and asked it for its paw. It complied - sort of - pushing my hand away with a firm, mechanical nudge. It was funny. It was awkward. And it was strangely revealing. I felt a flicker of something familiar, almost like when a real dog decides it has had enough of you for the moment.
That is when it hit me.
We are not just building smarter machines. We are building new kinds of relationships.
What does it mean when metal and code can trigger instinct, emotion, even affection? When our bodies respond before our brains catch up? CES does not just show you what is coming. It quietly asks you who you will be when it arrives, and how you will choose to engage with it.
At the same time, CES remains deeply, unmistakably a business show - and a powerful one. Being there with emnify, meeting customers we already support, connecting with new partners, and speaking with analysts who shape how the world understands connectivity reinforced something important: presence still matters.
Frank Stoecker, Martin Giess and Matt Mallette discussing the future of connectivity at the emnify booth.
Founders, executives, policymakers — people who do not come to speculate. They come to build, to partner, to move. And while technology makes global connection effortless, there is still something irreplaceable about standing face to face, sharing ideas in real time, and being part of the same physical moment.
That is something technology still cannot do for us. Be there.
Being there, at the center of that energy, representing a company that helps power these connected experiences from the inside out, felt exactly right. Like being in the right place, at the right time, with the right purpose.
CES 2026 was not just a showcase of innovation. It was a reminder that the future is already here - asking us to engage with it, question it, and shape it together.
And honestly? I can’t wait to see what comes next.
Sara Debevec
With a background in content strategy, journalism and product marketing, Sara Debevec brings over 15 years of global experience turning complex ideas into clear, compelling stories. She’s led content strategy across industries, from fintech to telecom - bridging technical depth with brand impact.
