CES may have started out as the Consumer Electronics Show, but it has never been solely about consumers. That was true before the AI boom, and it’s even more true today. Jaded tech journalists who’ve prowled the halls for a decade (and usually more) don’t want to hear the AI talk, but the topic is so pervasive at the event that even hopeful skeptics can turn to cynicism. It’s not that AI is a worthless advancement. Quite the opposite; AI is such a monumental shift in computing that it begs for bandwagon products aimed at easy investor dollars.
Nvidia and its monumental rise into the mainstream of speculative assets has led that charge, but AMD has been taking notes. And at CES 2026, AMD looked a lot like Nvidia. CEO Lisa Su took the stage for a two-hour keynote, joined by an ensemble of partners that don’t come anywhere near consumer technology, all driven by a simple thesis: “AI everywhere.” Although it won’t comfort PC enthusiasts, from a business perspective, it’s a fair focus for the opening CES keynote.
