IFA, or Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin, began humbly in 1924 as an international radio exhibition. Since then, it's grown into one of the largest annual consumer electronics shows anywhere, with more than 200,000 visitors anticipated over the next few days. The Berlin expo is a who's who of the appliance and device makers, with the likes of Microsoft, Bang & Olufsen, Casio, Samsung, LG, Sony, Huawei, ZTE, Asus, Acer, Toshiba, Philips, Panasonic, Amazon, and other industry titans making appearances. As in years past, a slew of announcements marked the start of IFA 2019, and VentureBeat covered the events as they happened from the show floor. Here are a few of the highlights so far.

At a panel talk event to kick off IFA 2019 in Berlin, Dr. I.P. Park, president and Chief Technology Officer of LG Electronics, shared the company's vision for an AI-powered future where Anywhere is Home. Addressing the three pillars of LG's AI strategy Evolve, Connect and Open, Dr. Park and the expert guest panellists discussed how innovations in AI and connectivity will expand the notion of home to every domain of living beyond the front door. At the heart of today's discussion was the role of LG ThinQ, the company's brand for intelligent devices, which now brings together AI products and services as well as those with Wi-Fi and IoT capabilities under a unified vision for an AI-based ecosystem. To illustrate the evolution of LG ThinQ, Dr. Park introduced an intelligent learning concept, which enables robot vacuum cleaners to avoid getting stuck in corners and obstacles. Facilitating such innovations will be LG's proprietary AI chip for appliances, launched earlier this year, which uses LG Neural Engine for on-device AI.

The world's biggest tech manufacturers are currently taking the stage at IFA 2019 in Berlin, Germany. The event is billed as Europe's largest consumer tech show where consumer tech meets innovation. But in a digital world where the lines between B2B and B2C are becoming increasingly blurry, there are a few critical lessons for businesses from all industries too. On the surface, IFA is simply a platform for 1,939 of the world's leading tech brands and manufacturers to showcase their latest innovations, products, or services across 163,900 square meters. Sure, many of these products will appear on wish lists and dominate headlines around Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the impending holiday season. But, if you zoom out from that, there is a message for every CEO.