STORY: :: This analyst says the hot topics at CES 2026 are robotics, autonomy and AI monetization
:: Las Vegas, Nevada
:: January 5, 2026
:: January 4, 2026
:: Dan Ives, Global Head of Technology Research, Wedbush Securities
"2026, I think, is the year of monetization for AI. It's outside the chatbot. I think that's really what you're seeing here, the use cases that are playing out front and center. And CES has a statement that they're making, showing that AI, this is going to be the year that, not just a prove-it year, but I think a year that monetization comes through."
"To me, it's about robotics and autonomous."
"I think a lot these technologies we're going to see in 2026 and potentially 2027, and I think that it's just showing in terms of this bull market, we're still in the third inning one out in terms of this nine inning game."
"I think for years, CES was maybe about talking refrigerators and drones. Now it's about the AI revolution. Obviously Jensen (Huang, president and CEO of NVIDIA), Lisa Su of AMD and others -- it's really the blueprint for the tech world globally, what it's going to look like in 2026."
On Monday, a media preview day ahead of the main CES event, Jensen Huang, CEO of AI chip giant Nvidia, said the next generation of the company's chips was in full production and AMD showed off a new higher performing AI chip,
Ives said the early keynote addresses show how far CES has moved towards AI and its monetization.
CES runs January 6-9 and features thousands of exhibitors across 13 venues and 2.6 million square feet (250,000 square meters), according to the Consumer Technology Association.
