CES 2026 is off and running, and chipmakers enabling the AI moment are one of the big starts of the show. In addition to NVIDIA and AMD taking the stage today, we'll also be getting Intel's 2026 launch event. The chip giant is expected to provide more details on its AI PC initiative and the new processors powering it: The Core Ultra Series 3 CPUs (aka Panther Lake) are made using an 18A process — that's 18 angstroms, or just under 2nm — and designed for high-end laptops and gaming devices.
For Intel, the stakes at CES are higher than ever. In the past 12 months, both NVIDIA and the US government acquired ownership stakes in the company, helping nearly double the stock price by the end of the year. But that's still down over more than 20 percent since 2021, as rivals like TSMC, Qualcomm, AMD and NVIDIA have taken the leadership mantle in chip fabrication and AI hardware.
How to watch Intel's CES 2026 launch event
Senior VP of Intel's Client Computing Group Jim Johnson will kick off the launch event on Monday, January 5 at 6PM ET. The livestream from Intel's YouTube channel is already available, and we've embedded it below.
Engadget will also be liveblogging the Intel presentation.
Live 2 updates Mon, January 5, 2026 at 1:00 PM PST Cherlynn Low Hello and welcome to our liveblog of Intel's CES 2026 keynote! We know the company will be sharing more details on its Panther Lake chips. There is likely to be stuff around AI and PCs, as well. Our AI reporter and one of our team's chip nerds Igor Bonifacic will be leading this liveblog, with support from our other chip nerds Aaron Souppouris and Devindra Hardawar. I'll be here eating potato chips.
Mon, January 5, 2026 at 12:45 PM PST Igor Bonifacic Hey, Igor here. For those that don't know me, I'm Engadget's AI reporter and I'll be handling today's Intel live blog to give Devindra a chance to rest after NVIDIA's keynote concludes at 2:30PM PT.
What to expect from Intel at CES 2026
As we noted above, Intel has publicly confirmed that it will be highlighting "the next generation of Intel-powered PCs, edge solution, and the AI experiences enabled by the new Intel Core Ultra Series 3 Processors." We'll be keen to hear if the company can address the profitability concerns that have surrounded those next-gen chips since at least last summer, when published reports indicated that yields were still under 50 percent. (In response, Intel told Engadget that it felt "very good" about its trajectory on Panther Lake, though it didn't hit the late 2025 release date it had envisioned at the time.)
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