Show off strength at CES! Chinese hardware companies fire the first shot for going global in 2025.
Article by Su Jianxun
From January 7th to 10th, 2025, Western US Time, CES (2024 International Consumer Electronics Show) officially opened. This is also the first battle of the year for all Chinese consumer hardware companies going global.
As the world's oldest and most influential consumer electronics exhibition, 2025 is already the 58th CES. Every year at this time, the hotel prices in Las Vegas, the venue of CES, at least double, and the spherical landmark building Sphere also continuously broadcasts advertisements of various enterprises, with the investment amount calculated in hundreds of thousands to millions of US dollars.
The theme of 2025 CES is "DIVE IN"; Photographed by Su Jianxun
When the slogan "No going global, no survival" has become the six-character motto in the hearts of countless entrepreneurs, participating in CES is not just about participating in an exhibition.
For enterprises trying to make a big splash in the international market, CES is an important stage and an excellent window for communicating and cooperating with channel distributors, developers, and KOLs.
Want to hear feedback before the new product is officially launched? Want to know what big moves your competitors are planning? CES can give you the most intuitive answers. It is the industry vane and trend barometer. The three letters CES represent the direction of the surging tide.
"Intelligent Emergence" has selected four going-global enterprises as samples. They are the leading enterprises in their respective fields, with a considerable overseas revenue. They are XREAL (AR glasses), Dreame Technology (Intelligent Cleaning), Tuya Smart (AI Cloud Platform), and Ninebot (Short Transportation & Service Robots). Let them talk about the exhibition results of participating in CES this time and their longer-term going-global plans.
XREAL CEO Xu Chi: Localization adaptation is a key strategy in the international market
Intelligent Emergence: Introduce your company in one sentence, and how many times is this your/your company's participation in CES?
Xu Chi: XREAL is a world-leading consumer-level AR glasses technology company. We want to use innovative technology to create an AR experience that is accessible to everyone.
This is XREAL's fourth appearance at CES: In 2019, XREAL made its debut at CES and launched the world's first consumer-level AR glasses Nreal Light, opening a new era of consumer-level AR; In 2020, we brought the Nebula operating system, redefining the spatial interaction experience; In 2024, XREAL Air 2 Ultra made its debut. With its powerful performance and experience, it became the focus of global developers, pushing spatial computing technology to a new height.
In 2025, this time we have brought stronger technological innovation and a greater industry vision, ready to once again refresh everyone's imagination of AR. You can look forward to it.
Intelligent Emergence: What highlights does XREAL show at this CES?
Xu Chi: At this CES, XREAL has brought a very impressive exhibition, with three main highlights.
First is the global debut of the XREAL One series. The XREAL One series makes its first offline appearance. Through ultra-high performance, we have raised the immersive experience to a whole new level. Audiences can try it on the spot to feel the performance of AR glasses in gaming, work, and entertainment scenarios.
XREAL One series; Photographed by Su Jianxun
With the support of AI, we also want to show the latest breakthroughs in spatial computing capabilities. XREAL Air 2 Ultra combines the AI large model and 6DoF positioning technology. Through gesture control, the audience can generate and operate virtual objects in real-time. Currently, everyone who has tried it internally finds it particularly amazing.
In addition, we also demonstrated cross-border innovations of AR + intelligent driving and AR + health experience. For example, in the cooperation exhibition area with BMW, it shows how AR technology can enhance the in-car entertainment and driving experience; The health technology exhibition in cooperation with Rongtai provides the audience with an innovative scene of experiencing the massage chair while being immersed in the AR game.
Intelligent Emergence: Based on past experience, what will participating in CES bring to XREAL?
Xu Chi: For XREAL, CES is not only a stage to showcase products, but also an opportunity to gain insights into trends and connect with the world.
CES, as the world's most influential technology exhibition, provides XREAL with an excellent platform to showcase its leading products and technologies to global industry experts, partners, and consumers. Through CES, we have further consolidated our leadership position in the consumer-level AR market and made "XREAL" a more internationally influential name.
CES attracts many top technology companies, industry leaders, and media. Through face-to-face communication, we can also strengthen cooperation with these partners, which also helps us expand the global market and build a richer XR developer ecosystem.
The interaction and product experience sessions during the exhibition allow us to collect a large amount of real feedback from users and the industry. These opinions provide valuable references for the subsequent research and development and iteration of products.
Image provided by XREAL
Intelligent Emergence: How important is the international business to XREAL? How do you evaluate the company's going-global performance in 2024?
Xu Chi: Internationalization is not just a "growth option" for XREAL, but a "core strategy". We always believe that based in China and globally positioned is the key driving force for long-term development.
Currently, XREAL's products have entered multiple countries such as the United States, Europe, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and has established a strategic cooperation with Google. It can be said that our position in the global consumer-level AR market is becoming more and more stable.
Looking back at 2024, we have taken some remarkable steps in internationalization this year. In mature markets such as North America and Europe, our layout is more solid. In the first half of 2024, XREAL's global market share reached 47.2%. At the same time, we have begun to enter emerging markets such as Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
Some key milestones are also worth mentioning. For example, during this year's "Black Friday", XREAL not only won the double first in sales volume and sales amount on all Amazon sites, but also topped the Amazon AR glasses sales list for three consecutive years. In addition, the achievement of strategic cooperation with Google is also an important milestone to jointly promote the construction of the Android XR ecosystem.
Of course, we also clearly see that there are many challenges in the globalization process. The understanding and demand for AR technology in different markets vary greatly, and educating users and building an ecosystem is a long-term project. This is also the direction we need to continue to work hard in 2025.
Intelligent Emergence: In 2025, the international situation is still unpredictable. Can you combine XREAL's new business plan for the year to look forward to what challenges and opportunities the company's going-global business will face?
Xu Chi: In 2025, the uncertainty of the global environment will indeed bring some challenges to international cooperation and market expansion, but this is also an opportunity for XREAL to re-examine and optimize its global business. Facing the unknown, we are not bystanders. We are more concerned about how to actively find a breakthrough in the changes rather than responding passively.
First of all, localization adaptation will become the key for us in the international market. We plan to accelerate the localization process in markets with a high acceptance of AR technology such as Japan and South Korea to enhance the market fit of our products. In addition, we will also strengthen the supply chain by optimizing the collaboration with local partners to reduce the risk of external policy changes and ensure stable operations in an uncertain environment.
Secondly, strategic cooperation is still an important grasp for us to develop stably in a complex global environment. Despite the uncertain market situation, we will continue to promote cooperation with global technology platforms, especially in-depth collaboration with global giants such as Google, to maintain our voice in the global AR technology ecosystem and participate in the world's most cutting-edge technology division of labor.
But in the final analysis, technological innovation is always XREAL's core competitiveness. Musk said: "If one day Tesla's products are no longer competitive, its elimination may be a good thing for the industry." I think this sentence reveals the core of a technology-driven company - only through continuous innovation can we truly drive the industry forward. XREAL will unswervingly follow the path of technological innovation, uphold a global perspective, be a sailor of the world, and head for the dock of innovation.
2. Meng Jia, Global Head of Dreame Technology's Sweeping Robot BU: Standing firm in the high-end market with innovative technology. The era of trading quantity for price has passed
Intelligent Emergence: Introduce your company in one sentence, and how many times is this your/your company's participation in CES?
Meng Jia: Dreame is a global high-end consumer electronics and intelligent manufacturing company with high-speed digital motors, intelligent algorithms, and motion control technology as its core.
At present, we are already a leading brand in the intelligent cleaning industry, mainly including four categories: sweeping robots, intelligent floor washing machines, wireless vacuum cleaners, and high-speed hair dryers. We firmly believe that "Innovative technology is the foundation of everything".
This is our 7th participation in CES. After Dreame was established in December 2017, we decided to go global, so we participated in CES for the first time in 2019, and we have actively participated every year since then. For us, CES is also one of the most important exhibitions every year.
Intelligent Emergence: What highlights does Dreame show at this CES?
Meng Jia: For our participation in CES 2025, in addition to bringing new product categories such as window cleaning robots, there are two technological innovation highlights worth sharing.
Dreame window cleaning robot; Provided by the enterprise
One is the world's first bionic multi-joint manipulator technology for sweeping robots. We have created a manipulator with four joints for the sweeping robot, which can extend 30cm from the body and can pick up objects weighing 400 grams.
Dreame's world-first bionic multi-joint manipulator technology for sweeping robots; Provided by the enterprise
The manipulator can not only move obstacles, but also sense and detect the environment through our self-developed structured light RGB module, identify different scenes and degrees of dirt, and independently replace cleaning tools to complete different cleaning tasks.
The other is the intelligent mop changing system. We have redesigned the base station mechanism to accommodate up to 3 sets of mops, and the sweeping robot can automatically change mops at the base station. Users can set dedicated mops for different areas to avoid cross-use in different rooms.
Intelligent Emergence: Based on past experience, what will participating in CES bring to Dreame?
Meng Jia: First of all, it is definitely an opportunity to expand business opportunities. CES is a world-class exhibition with global influence, and its market and crowd coverage capabilities are very strong. At last year's CES, our lawn mower robot received a lot of market orders.
The second is an opportunity to show strength and establish brand influence. We have also brought some world-first technological innovations and product innovations at this CES, and showcased them to partners, media, and consumers from all over the world to enhance our brand influence.
The third is also a learning opportunity. Being able to be on the CES stage with the world's top brands also allows for mutual learning and communication, and there are also opportunities for mutual inspiration between different categories.
Intelligent Emergence: How important is the international business within Dreame? How do you evaluate the company's going-global performance in 2024?
Meng Jia: Dreame decided to go global from the first day of its establishment. The international business has the same highest priority as the Chinese market for Dreame.
Now Dreame products have covered more than 100 countries around the world, and the global offline stores have exceeded 5,500. Currently, the revenue of Dreame's international business accounts for almost half of the overall proportion and the Chinese region.
In 2024, Dreame's international business maintained a high growth rate. A latest report from IDC also mentioned that as a global TOP manufacturer in the sweeping robot industry, Dreame's global market shipments increased by 39.7% year-on-year, ranking first among the Top 5 manufacturers.
Our performance in the global market also represents the development trend of China's high-end consumer electronics industry in the global market. On the one hand, independent research and development and product innovation have gradually surpassed and even left behind overseas manufacturers. The result is that we no longer rely on cost performance to compete in the market, and Chinese brands can also occupy the high-end market. Our sweeping robots are the market leaders in the high-end markets in Europe, the United States, and Japan.
From the perspective of rankings in various regions, Dreame is currently the industry leader in many regions such as Europe and Southeast Asia; As of October 2024, Dreame Technology's market share of sweeping robots in Germany, France, Switzerland, and Singapore exceeds 30%, ranking first, and the market share in Germany is even more than 50%.
Intelligent Emergence: In 2025, the international situation is still unpredictable. Can you combine Dreame's new business plan for the year to look forward to what challenges and opportunities the company's going-global business will face?
Meng Jia: In fact, Chinese enterprises going global have been facing many challenges in the past few years, but this is also an opportunity for Chinese enterprises to transform their going-global strategies. If the transformation is successful, it will further consolidate our competitiveness in the global market.
In 2025, we will further enhance our industry position in the North American market on the basis of continuously stabilizing the European, Southeast Asian and other markets.
Combined with our business plan, I would like to share two points.
The first is technological investment. In fact, in recent years, going-global enterprises have increasingly gotten rid of the traditional labor-intensive industrial model, and the investment in enterprise technology research and development