Like a rockstar, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang took the keynote stage at CES 2026 on Monday to announce progress on ongoing developments, like its Vera Rubin technology, announced at CES 2024, that is now only arriving in supercomputers going into production, as well as the proliferation of its robotic tech that other companies like Samsung are deploying.
More interesting, though, is something new: Alpamayo, a set of open-source reasoning model technology designed for deployment in autonomous vehicles. The first iteration of this new tech, according to Huang, drives as a human would. Alpamayo 1 is being deployed first in the 2025 Mercedes Benz CLA, which you can see in a self-driving demo in Huang’s keynote here.
Let’s get physical
Alpamayo is just a small nugget of the world of physical AI tech that permeates many products at CES 2026. Nvidia’s definition is set in this glossary page: “autonomous systems like cameras, robots and self-driving cars [that can] perceive, understand, reason and perform or orchestrate complex actions in the physical world.” That is, the system works and reasons independently — no cloud or wireless connection needed to feed it data.
Examples of physical AI from other companies abound on the first day:
Hyundai Motor Group demonstrated the physical AI capabilities of its Atlas robots in material handling and manufacturing, which it plans to deploy at its Metaplant America smart factory.
Samsung‘s physical AI is embedded in its Galaxy phone lineup and wearables, which sport real-time translation, health monitoring and content summarization sans a cloud connection. It’s all part of the company’s “Companions to AI Living” initiative that runs through its product offerings, from TVs, speakers and tablets to home appliances.
LG‘s version is “Affectionate Intelligence,” which is being integrated into its whole lineup. LG’s star at CES is CLOiD, a humanoid robot that can fold and cook.
Lego is even in play, with its sensor-embedded Smart Play Brick that incorporates lights and sounds that respond to the immediate environment.
Razer announced Project Ava, a real-time gaming copilot that works like a coach, helping you work your way through games by offering advice and insights.
Where to find more
We’ll have more coverage of the more interesting finds in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, you can follow news coming from CES 2026 daily from our other SmartBrief partners:
- CTA SmartBrief has ongoing consumer tech news.
- Radio World has the latest in radio innovations from the show.
- TechRadar contributors are covering the event live.
Did you attend CES 2026? Even if you didn’t, what products or services got your interest? Write us or comment at this LinkedIn post.– Michael