Note to future self: do not, and I repeat, do NOT, forget to bring chapstick when meandering around inside those echoey, cavernous trade show airport hangers. If you do, your lips will fall off. 

Overall verdict? A strong 10/10, as I genuinely don’t think I’ve seen a bigger amalgamation of creativity before in my life. Walking from booth to booth, presentation to presentation, was literally like walking from one universe into the next. This was reflected in ISE managing to break records with their visitor numbers - 58,107 unique attendees from 155 countries, and we even had the King of Spain stop by the Startups Magazine booth!

The overall takeaway was the growing trend in the virtual space, with many startups dedicated to unique experiences for the metaverse and VR. Here are the 10 coolest startups (in no particular order!) we saw at ISE.

1. Humanizing Technologies. Bringing in robots to do all sorts of tasks from delivers to manual labour, I was instantly drawn to their booth due to the futuristic robot that was literally rolling around the premises and greeting people.
    
   
   
    
2. Blit Studio: A creative studio that creates visual content, animation, motion graphics, 2D and 3D. I was lucky enough to try their VR headset and was greeted by a staggeringly lifelike Frida Kahlo surrounded by several Day-Of-The-Dead face painted men playing guitars. As impressive as it was trippy.
3. Broomx. A projected XR platform that empowers users to create and share immersive sessions and events. It's VR without the headset. Located in Barcelona, they are reinventing the immersive and collective experience as we know it. Entering 2023 they will be focussing on using the experiences to support medical training. Watch out for the healthtech issue later this year...
4. BishopSound. Professional British made speakers designed, engineered and voiced in Great Britain, delivering that original, inimitable, world-famous British sound that made the entire world fall in love with The Beatles. Not sure I’ve ever encountered anyone with as much passion and zest for high quality sound than their founder, Mr. Bishop himself.
    
5. Hotwire Global. For those looking to divide and conquer their business strategies, look no further than these guys who provide a one of a kind service that identifies challenges and will help you beeline your way to success. Everything from media strategy, PR, communications, marketing, whatever you need, they got it.
6. Eurecat. A Catalonia based provider of creative and unique technology that has been making moves across the world with its impact on the environment, medical advancements, solar energy, and more.
7. Herta. Another dynamo from Spain, the US department of homeland security named Herta the best facial recognition vendor. They develop security software and identification of crowds in real time through IP cameras, and I was fortunate enough to see this action. Truly impressive.
8. iDisc. A translation and communication agency that is making it easier for everyone to reach a global scale with their content, no matter what their native tongue is. Unlike your standard translator app, these guys can translate even the most poetic sentences to match their fluidity in whatever the preferred language may be.
9. Blackfish. Based out of Nanjing, China, they are a fintech platform integrating mobile internet lifestyle, providing a new customer ecosystem and financial services. They recently raised $146 million dollars in their series A round funding – look out for these guys!
10. Fugo. A digital signage software that eliminates the unavoidable stress of trying to manage all of your screens and content in one place. You can control over 100 screens as if it was one, instantly relieving anyone struggling to keep track of everything. Sign me up!

The show was a unique opportunity to get hands on with startups set for success in 2023. We look forward to seeing their progress in 2024!