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It's the week Sin City turned sci-fi. Humanoid robots shadowboxed, danced and pretended to run small shops. Singapore-based Sharpa displayed a robotic hand playing table tennis and dealing blackjack hands. Across Las Vegas, technology companies used the annual CES trade show to reveal their visions of the future and to loudly proclaim that physical artificial intelligence is poised for a breakout year. "The humanoid industry is riding on the work of the AI factories we're building for other AI stuff," Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said at a news conference on Tuesday.
Nvidia Founder and CEO Jensen Huang stands in front of a photo of several humanoid robots during his keynote at CES in Las Vegas on January 5, 2026. Nvidia
Nvidia, which last year became the world's most valuable company, announced a new version of its vision language models called Gr00t for humanoid robots that can turn sensor inputs into robot body control, as well as a version of its Cosmos model for robot reasoning and planning. Huang said he expects to see robots with some human-level capabilities this year. "I know how fast the technology is moving," he said. His company highlighted partnerships with the likes of Boston Dynamics, Caterpillar and LG. Science fiction writers have dreamed of this moment for decades. "The Jetsons" had Rosey, a robot maid. In "Star Wars," C-3PO helped Luke Skywalker save the galaxy. However, in real life, humanoids have so far been unable to demonstrate the intelligence or flexibility that would make them truly useful, a problem that's long eluded engineers. Then came generative AI with the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT in late 2022. The same deep learning technology that underpins ChatGPT can be used to teach the robots how to walk, use a hand or fold laundry. Many in the industry see self-driving cars as the first major commercial manifestation of physical AI. Industry heavyweights are going big. In addition to Nvidia, fellow chipmakers Advanced Micro Devices and Qualcomm made splashy robot-related announcements at CES. On Monday, Google's DeepMind said it would work with Hyundai's Boston Dynamics, formerly a division of Google, to develop new AI models for its Atlas robot.
The humanoid GENE.01 robot was showcased by AMD because it uses its chips and AI technology. Kif Leswing / CNBC
McKinsey estimates that the market for what it calls general-purpose robotics could reach $370 billion by 2040, with top use cases including "warehouse logistics, light manufacturing, retail operations, agriculture, and healthcare." But some analysts were quick to point out that it's a long way from the show floor to the factory floor, or to the home. "Although the humanoids were the ones that grabbed everyone's attention, and it was the best kind of eye candy for the show, we're still a very, very long way from the commercial implementation of these," Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight, said in an interview.
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