One of Faultline’s most frequent criticisms of 2020’s virtual event roster was the disservice done to start-up communities. Platforms like CES need to use their tremendous scale and influence – which has become even greater under all-digital roofs – to better the technology industry. Instead, CES 2021 pulled a veil over the real technological innovations and issues affecting the entertainment and communications ecosystems today, much like the pandemic has pulled a veil over political issues (see separate story in this issue). Faultline takes pride in leaving the hustle and bustle of the usual hotspots of a show like CES to hunt down a handful of start-ups in a quiet corner, which has become a tricky endeavor in a Covid world.…