How FIGUR8 turned an unscheduled conversation at CES into an acquisition

CES 2026 was a milestone year for Nan-Wei Gong.

It was her first year as a member of CTA’s Board of Industry Leaders. She spoke on a research-track panel about trust and innovation in connected health. And she spent the week doing what she says makes the show so valuable: meeting the people who shape where industries go next.

But the moment that mattered most didn’t appear on anyone’s schedule.

A Meeting No One Scheduled

FIGUR8 began as a collaboration between MIT scientists, Massachusetts General Hospital Orthopaedics and the Boston Red Sox. Today, Gong describes it as a medtech-enabled data service focused on musculoskeletal health and injury recovery, built on an FDA-registered platform.

Her goal for CES was simple: find business partnerships.

She found one by walking the digital health section of the show floor.

No pitch deck. No conference room. Just a founder, a show floor and a willingness to start a conversation.

What happened next moved quickly. Within a single conversation, Gong was talking with a decision-maker who understood where FIGUR8 fit in a larger ecosystem. That conversation led to a merger discussion. Just a couple of months later, FIGUR8 was acquired by Myant.

Why the Right Room Matters

For Gong, the lesson isn’t about luck. It’s about where the conversations happen.

Healthcare, she explains, is moving into the home, and every industry is looking for ways to reach the consumer. That shift is blurring the lines between sectors.

A health company that only attends medical device trade shows risks missing the people shaping what comes next. At CES, Gong found those people in one place. Executive-level decision-makers from health tech and consumer tech, the businesses FIGUR8 most wanted to reach, were all within walking distance, and she could meet them within the same day.

Her advice to leaders in healthcare who aren’t attending is direct.

Looking Ahead to CES 2027

Myant returns to CES Jan. 6-9, 2027, at the Venetian Expo, Halls A-D, booth 53417.

The company works at the point where health leaves the clinic and enters everyday life, the same shift Gong describes. It’s one of the clearest examples of what happens when healthcare and consumer technology meet.

And Myant won’t be alone. With a new dedicated health destination at the Venetian in 2027, the sector has a bigger home than ever at CES. For anyone working where consumer tech and healthcare overlap, it’s a natural place to start.

Plenty of people go to CES to see technology.

Some go to find the right person at the right moment.