Las Vegas, January 2026 — Merlyn for Education is proud to announce that Merlyn Origin, our voice-enabled AI teaching assistant, has been named a Top Innovation Award winner at the CES 2026 Speed Award — one of the key innovation platforms held during the world's largest technology conference.
Merlyn was recognized alongside some of the most prominent names in global technology, including Segway, Mobvoi, and LumiMind — a next-generation neurotechnology company. Being honored in that company reflects something we've believed from the start: purpose-built AI for education belongs on the same stage as the most transformative technology in the world.
What the Award Recognizes
The CES 2026 Speed Award brings together leading global technology companies, industry executives, and media to celebrate innovation across categories including Top Innovation, Outstanding Engineering, Excellence in Design, Global Branding, and Smart Living. The event was held at the Las Vegas Convention Center on January 8, with keynote remarks from leaders at the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) and former Qualcomm Vice President Larry Paulson.
Paulson noted that the most striking change at CES 2026 was the rapid acceleration of AI productization — artificial intelligence is no longer a concept, but embedded in tangible products across nearly every category. Technology cycles that once took a decade to reach scale are now being compressed dramatically.
Merlyn Origin's recognition in the Top Innovation category reflects exactly that shift — practical AI that is already working inside K–12 classrooms today.
What Makes Merlyn Origin Different
The Top Innovation Award highlights how Merlyn Origin delivers the power of AI to any teacher through a simple remote control, USB receiver, desktop application, and browser extension. Through voice control, teachers can:
- Access answers and search content in real time
- Launch teaching tools and manage presentations
- Play videos, set timers, and share resources
- Do all of this from anywhere in the classroom — without returning to a desk
Built on a large language model designed specifically for education, Merlyn Origin's chat feature provides K–12-appropriate responses, relevant images, source links, and extension questions that reward curiosity and support authentic student engagement.
Critically, Merlyn Origin works with the tools districts already use — enabling voice and remote control of PCs, Macs, and Chromebooks, and connecting to any front-of-classroom display. Schools get more value from existing technology investments without ripping and replacing what's already in place.
Why This Matters for Classrooms
The recognition at CES points to something larger happening in education technology.
For too long, classroom technology has added to teachers' workloads rather than reducing them. Merlyn was built to reverse that — automating common tasks, simplifying classroom management, and giving teachers back the one thing that matters most: time with their students.
By keeping teachers out of "technostress" and in front of their classes, Merlyn transforms minutes lost to technology into moments that matter for students. That's not a feature. That's the mission.
Looking Ahead
This CES recognition is validation that teacher-first AI is not a niche idea — it's where the industry is heading. As AI productization accelerates globally, the educators who will benefit most are those whose schools invest in tools built specifically for them, not adapted from somewhere else.
Merlyn for Education is honored to be recognized among the world's top technology innovators and remains focused on what it has always been focused on: helping teachers teach.
