1. Direct conversations with developers at scale.

Over the week, we spoke with around 100 developer, publisher and product teams, ranging from solo founders to large multinational organizations, including companies operating in the same mapping ecosystem as us. Having open, technical discussions about the core challenges in mapping was incredibly valuable. The number one issue came up again and again: the cost of maps and the lack of revenue potential for the people who deploy them. For Mapfirst, whose mission is to make maps free to render and monetizable on a click basis, these conversations confirmed that the problem we are solving is both real and widespread.

2. Product feedback that genuinely moved the roadmap.

CES was not just about pitching. It was also about listening. We received thoughtful input on how to improve our maps further. One suggestion was to better support the mapping of third-party points of interest alongside our own data, enabling a more automated monetization layer. Another was to introduce heatmap-style visual cues to indicate how closely search results match user intent, helping people navigate suggestions beyond just price and location. These ideas will directly shape future iterations of Mapfirst and we already added some of these onto our Q1 roadmap.