RiseLink Technologies CEO Dr. Pengfei Zhang Spotlights Edge AI and Wi-Fi 6 as Foundations of the Matter-Ready Smart Home at CES 2026

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- At CES 2026, Dr. Pengfei Zhang, Founder and CEO of RiseLink Technologies Inc., joined senior leaders from Bosch, ecobee, Amazon Devices, and EY on the featured panel, "The Latest in Smart Devices and Smart Home Integration," where he outlined a clear vision for the next phase of smart-home evolution—one defined by the convergence of robust connectivity, ultra-low-power design, and on-device intelligence.

The panel was moderated by John Harrison, Partner at EY, and featured:

• Darcy Clarkson, Chief Executive Officer — Region North America (Appliances Division), Bosch
• Greg Fyke, President and CEO, ecobee
• Charlotte Maines, Director, Devices Advertising, Amazon Devices
• Dr. Pengfei Zhang, CEO, RiseLink Technologies Inc.

During the discussion, Dr. Zhang emphasized that as smart homes scale toward dozens of always-connected devices, the industry must rethink system architecture to support reliability, responsiveness, and user trust. "The future smart home will not be cloud-dependent by default," he noted. "It will be Matter-ready, intelligent at the edge, and designed around real-world constraints like power, latency, and privacy."

Three Pillars Driving Smart Home Adoption

Dr. Zhang outlined three core technology pillars shaping the next generation of smart-home platforms:

Dual-Band Wi-Fi 6 Connectivity

With device density continuing to rise, dual-band Wi-Fi 6 is becoming essential infrastructure for the modern home. Its improved capacity and efficiency enable stable performance across both high-bandwidth devices and latency-sensitive applications.

Ultra-Low-Power System Design

To unlock true ubiquity, smart devices must operate untethered. RiseLink's system-on-chip architecture focuses on ultra-low-power operation, allowing sensors, controllers, and interactive devices to run for years on a single battery without sacrificing performance.

Edge AI for Privacy-First Intelligence

Addressing growing consumer concern around data security, Dr. Zhang positioned edge AI as a foundational shift in smart-home design. By processing voice, vision, and sensor data locally on the chip, RiseLink enables advanced intelligence while keeping sensitive user data inside the home.

Real-Time Conversational AI, Running On-Device

As a live example of these principles in action, Dr. Zhang highlighted RiseLink's latest Edge-AI Wi-Fi processors, which support real-time conversational AI directly on device. Local processing enables near-instant response times, reduced cloud dependency, and stronger privacy guarantees.

RiseLink also introduced Choo Choo the Dragon, an interactive AI reading companion for children, as a flagship demonstration of edge intelligence. Powered by RiseLink's Edge-AI processor, Choo Choo engages children through natural, real-time dialogue to support interactive storytelling and learning—while ensuring conversations remain private and locally processed.

"The integration of high-performance Wi-Fi 6 with on-device AI is redefining how people interact with smart environments," said Dr. Zhang. "With products like Choo Choo the Dragon, we're demonstrating that intelligent, conversational experiences can be responsive, power-efficient, and privacy-preserving at the same time."

About Dr. Pengfei Zhang and RiseLink Technologies

Dr. Pengfei Zhang is the Founder and CEO of RiseLink Technologies Inc., a leading provider of wireless connectivity and edge-AI system-on-chips for smart-home and IoT devices. A graduate of Tsinghua University and UCLA, Dr. Zhang brings more than two decades of experience in the global semiconductor industry. Under his leadership, RiseLink has become a key innovator in high-performance, ultra-low-power wireless solutions powering next-generation smart devices worldwide.

SOURCE Riselink