Omicron variant threat: AMD, MSI not to attend 'CES 2022' in-person

US based semiconductor company AMD and gaming PC maker MSI have joined the growing list of tech companies who have decided not to attend the 'CES 2022' in-person in Las Vegas, as cases of the Omicron Covid-19 variant have have continued to surge.

While Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the governing body on CES, plans to go ahead with the show, several tech companies like Google, Intel, Microsoft, Lenovo, T-Mobile, AT&T, Meta, Twitter, Amazon, TikTok, Pinterest, Alphabet-owned Waymo, along with several media outlets, will not attend the consumer electronics show.

"AMD has decided to cancel our in-person presence at CES 2022 in Las Vegas and will instead transition to a virtual experience. While the AMD 2022 Product Premiere was always planned as a digital-only livestream, our in-person engagements will now transition to virtual in the best interest of the health and safety of our employees, partners and communities. We look forward to sharing all our exciting news as scheduled on January 4," a company spokesperson said in a statement.

The CTA told TechCrunch that over 2,200 companies are confirmed to participate in-person at 'CES 2022' in Las Vegas.

"Since December, the rapidly spreading Omicron variant has brought the USA a surge of Covid-19 cases. The health and well-being of our employees, customers and fans are our top priority. Hence, we have decided not to participate in-person at CES 2022 and will join the show virtually with our online product launch," MSI said in a post on its website.

In an earlier tweet, Lenovo had said: "After closely monitoring the current trends surrounding Covid, it is in the best interest of the health and safety of our employees, customers, partners, and our communities to suspend all on-site activity in Las Vegas."

T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert, one of the CES 2022's featured speakers, announced that his company won't be attending the world's largest electronics show next month.

The world's most influential tech event is slated to showcase some first-time innovations around Blockchain-based non-fungible tokens (NFTs), remote health solutions, self-driving cars, gaming, food and space tech.

--IANS

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