Let’s Be Honest, AI at CES 2025 Was All About Nvidia

There were plenty of AI announcements at CES 2025 and most didn’t really matter. Seriously, a robot vacuum that can pick up dirty socks or TVs that can generate recipes? Meanwhile, Nvidia, the chip maker powering the AI revolution, is openly releasing models to allow robots to function in the real world. Everything else seems trite. 

CEO Jensen Huang took the stage on Monday and unveiled a foundational AI model named Cosmos that helps robots and autonomous vehicles understand the physical world, calling it “the ChatGPT moment for robotics.” He also announced a new chip named Thor for cars and trucks that uses AI to process visual information coming in from cameras and LiDAR sensors to lead the way in level 4 autonomous driving. And Huang revealed the 50-series lineup of gaming and laptop GPUs that promises to deliver massive leaps in performance and “breakthroughs in AI-driven rendering” at a lower cost than the 40 series (in most cases). 

Sorry, Withings and its AI-powered smart mirror — try again next year. 

CES is the largest consumer technology show in North America. Taking place in Las Vegas, It brings in the world’s top tech makers to show off devices and concepts that may or may not ever reach consumers. It’s also a way for smaller companies to get in front of the press and fans to demo what they’ve been working on. AI was the major trend last year. When OpenAI launched ChatGPT in late 2022, it showed general consumers what generative AI was capable of. What followed were all the major tech companies releasing AI products of their own and seeing stock valuations jump in the process. 

Now, seemingly every company is wanting to integrate AI into its products in some fashion as a way to court investor and consumer interest, even as consumers shrug at AI-powered iPhones. Amidst the miasma of AI goop flowing through the showrooms in Las Vegas, the iterative remixes of existing AI tech can end up having a snake oil-like quality.

But people choose to stand in long lines to see Huang, who has become a bit of a celebrity in his own right. His quirky announcement videos attract millions of views and his down-to-earth demeanor, plus his adornment of leather jackets, make him a likable hawker of cutting-edge gaming graphics. And it’s paying off for Nvidia. In early January of 2023, Nvidia stock hovered around $15. With the AI revolution, companies have been scrambling to buy Nvidia chips over the past two years to power their servers. After Huang’s keynote on Monday, the stock hit record highs above $150 before cooling off a bit, but still representing about a tenfold increase in just two years. 

Watch this: Everything Announced at Nvidia’s CES Event in 12 Minutes

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It’s also worth noting how Nvidia’s tech has seemingly pushed aside other players in the GPU space. Nvidia is so heavily dominating the GPU market that AMD and Intel have been relegated to competing in the mid-range category. AMD did announce a series of new mid-range GPUs, but changed the naming convention to better match Nvidia. For example, the AMD RX 9070 is taking clear shots at the 5070 cards, making it easier for consumers to compare the two. Intel just recently entered the dedicated GPU card market after failing to meet the moment on the CPU space against Qualcomm, AMD and Nvidia. But it’s only trying to carve out a space in the budget GPU category.

Thankfully, this past year has shown that AI-hype can only go so far. AI wearables failed to impress and the market cooled on throwing billions at companies releasing AI-polkadotted press releases. Next year’s CES will likely have its fair share of AI bloat, most of which will likely be met with yawns — maybe it should be renamed to Nvidia Greenlight. 

For the best of CES 2025, check out the our must-see products from the show and the most innovative products that you can actually buy now.