Sometimes, AI just wants to be your friend. And while robot pets weren’t the biggest stars of CES 2026, they’ve become more than just noise and are signaling how AI is apparently leaving our screens and taking on a physical presence in our lives.

CES 2026, the annual consumer tech conference held in Las Vegas, is here. And lucky for you, we have TechCrunch editors and reporters on the ground to cover the news, scout out the interesting, weird,

On Jan. 6, 2026, investors weighed Grab’s AI-fueled delivery push against fresh growth, margin, and funding signals.

Nvidia stock wasn’t boosted by the chip maker’s unveiling of a suite of products designed for robotics and autonomous driving.

Mobileye made its name, and money, by supplying automakers with millions of computer vision chips designed to support automotive safety features and later advanced driver assistance systems. The Intel subsidiary and publicly traded company later expanded to tackle autonomous driving through its chips and software.

A Chinese company founded under a year ago claims its AI-powered robot can perform a task many humans struggle with. It could end up being a big deal.

Shares of Mobileye Global climbed after the company agreed to acquire artificial-intelligence robotics startup Mentee Robotics for $900 million. The stock gained 11%, to $13.55, in after-hours trading Tuesday.

CES 2026 reveals how physical AI, longevity tech, and blockchain are converging into something bigger: the Human Operating System. Keynotes by Siemens, Nvidia, and AMD

To address this, NVIDIA unveiled new physical AI models, frameworks and infrastructure, alongside robots from global partners including Boston Dynamics,