LAS VEGAS (AP) — Sure, Nvidia, AMD and Intel all had major chip and AI platform announcements on the first day of CES 2026, but what audiences all wanted to see more of was Star Wars and Jensen Huang’s little robot friends.
CES is a huge opportunity every year for companies both large and small to present products they plan to put on the shelves this year. And, as predicted, artificial intelligence has been anchored in almost everything as tech firms continue to look for AI products that will attract customers.
AP was on the floor looking at booths and covering big announcements, here’s a roundup of the highlights we saw on day one of CES.
Nvidia gets physical
The biggest buzzword in the air at CES is “physical AI,” Nvidia’s term for AI models that are trained in a virtual environment using “synthetic” computer-generated data, then deployed as physical machines once they’ve mastered their purpose.
CEO Jensen Huang demonstrated Cosmos, a foundational AI model trained on massive datasets, capable of simulating environments governed by actual physics. He also announced Alpamayo, an AI model specifically designed for autonomous driving. Huang revealed that Nvidia’s next-generation AI superchip platform, called Vera Rubin, is in full production, and that Nvidia has a new partnership with Siemens. All this shows that Nvidia will fight increased competition to maintain its reputation as the backbone of the AI industry.
But once Huang called for two small, waddling, chirping robots to join him on stage, that’s all the audience wanted to see more of.
The chips are back in town
AMD CEO Lisa Su announced a new line of its famous Ryzen AI processors as the company continues to expand its footprint in the world of AI-powered personal computers.
For gamers, AMD also showed the latest version of its processor focused on games, the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D.
Meanwhile, Intel announced its new AI chip for laptops, Panther Lake (also known as the Intel Core Ultra Series 3), and said the company has plans to launch a new platform to address a growing market for handheld video game machines.
Intel, a Silicon Valley pioneer that enjoyed decades of growth as its processors powered the personal computer boom, has fallen back after missing the shift to the mobile computing era ushered in by the iPhone. It fell further behind after the AI boom propelled Nvidia into the spotlight.
President Donald Trump’s administration recently stepped in to secure a 10% stake in the company, making the government one of Intel’s largest shareholders. Federal officials said they invested in Intel to support US technology and domestic manufacturing.
Uber dives back into the robotaxi game
Uber is giving the public a first look at their robotaxi at CES this week. Uber, along with luxury electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid Motors and vehicle technology company Nuro, have introduced an autonomous vehicle with an Uber-designed in-cabin experience.
Uber calls it the most luxurious robotaxi yet. It contains cameras, sensors and radars that provide 360-degree perception and a low-profile roof “halo” with integrated LEDs that will display the drivers’ initials to help them identify their car and track the status of their ride. Inside, drivers can customize everything from climate and seat heating to music, while real-time visuals show exactly what the vehicle is seeing on the road and the route it plans to take.
Autonomous road testing began last month in San Francisco, led by Nuro, marking a major step toward what the companies said is a planned launch before the end of the year.
Star Wars and Lego announce new partnership
When Lucasfilm chief creative officer David Filoni released an array of X-Wing pilots, Chewbacca, R2D2 and C-3PO, he won the Star Wars fandom over to Lego.
Lego announced its Lego Smart Play platform on Monday, introducing new smart bricks, tags and special minifigs for your collection. The new bricks contain sensors that allow them to sense light and distance, and to provide a range of reactions, essentially lights and sounds, when used together.
Combine this with a newly announced partnership with the Star Wars franchise and now you can create your own interactive space battles and light saber duels.
LG unveils a new robot to help around the house
File this one under intrigued, for now.
On Monday the Korean tech giant gave the media a look at its humanoid robot that is designed to take care of household chores such as folding clothes and fetching food. Although many companies have robots on display at CES, LG is certainly one of the biggest technology companies that promises to put a service robot in homes.
It will be on display – and we assume it will show off some of its alleged abilities – starting on Tuesday, so we’ll have more to report soon.
What’s new with lollipops?
Music you can taste was on display Monday at CES: Lollipop Star unveiled a candy that plays music while you eat it. The company says it uses something called “bone induction technology,” which lets you hear songs — like tracks from Ice Spice and Akon — through the lollipop as you lick it or bite into the back of your mouth, according to spokeswoman Cassie Lawrence.
The musical lollipops will go on sale after CES on Lollipop Star’s website for $8.99 each. And if that wasn’t enough star power, Akon was expected to visit the company’s booth Tuesday when CES opens to the public.
Atlas holds the (manufacturing) world of Hyundai
Boston Dynamics, owned by Hyundai, publicly showed its Atlas humanoid robot for the first time at the CES technology show, stepping up competition with Tesla and other rivals to build robots that look like people and do things that people do.
The company said a version of the robot that will help assemble cars is already in production and will be deployed by 2028 at Hyundai’s electric vehicle manufacturing facility near Savannah, Georgia.
Delta becomes spherical
Delta Air Lines is taking entertainment to new heights as the “official airline” of the Realm in Las Vegas. The airline announced a new multi-year partnership with Sphere Entertainment Co. which it says will deliver premium experiences at the venue, including a Delta SKY360° Club lounge.
The carrier said SkyMiles members can unlock exclusive access to other experiences at the Sphere, starting during the final weekend of the Backstreet Boys residency in February with features including private seats, food and drinks. The partnership brings the Delta brand to the Sphere’s huge outdoor LED screen. Delta says more exclusive SkyMiles experiences will roll out in 2026 and beyond.