The CES 2026 no longer felt like a stage for showcasing what technology might do. It looked more like a declaration that the technology is already operating inside real industries.
At the center was “physical AI.” If generative AI handles language and images, physical AI drives robots, machines and vehicles. At this year’s show, the shift moved from promises to execution.
One striking scene was companies laying out mass-production plans for humanoid robots. Hyundai Motor presented a detailed roadmap to produce AI-equipped robots in the tens of thousands a year, aiming to deploy them in factories for repetitive work and assembly. The message was that the discussion has moved beyond robots walking and carrying objects to measuring productivity. On the CES floor, robots were no longer “future tech” but “labor.”
The push was not limited to one company. U.S., Chinese and South Korean firms rolled out humanoid and industrial robots, while home, logistics and manufacturing robots advanced in parallel. The trend suggests a broader industrial shift: AI is moving beyond replacing human judgment to taking on physical roles.
Semiconductor and platform companies were another pillar. What ultimately moves robots is computing power and training data, and chipmakers highlighted robots and autonomous driving as core growth engines. AI is no longer only a software business; it is being rebuilt as industrial infrastructure linking factories, roads and warehouses.
There were also differences by country.
The United States, China and South Korea aggressively paired robots with AI, while Japan — once seen as a robotics powerhouse — appeared less prominent. The impression was not a lack of technology, but a loss of leadership in combining it with AI. Patent and investment trends, the column notes, reflect where competition is heading.
Barriers remain. For humanoid robots to settle into industrial sites, reliability, safety and rules for working alongside people are needed. Robots that require constant human monitoring cannot be deployed on productivity alone. Regulatory and institutional debates can no longer be delayed.
CES 2026 posed a question: Will AI be treated only as a technology that “talks well,” or as a “bodied” technology that moves industry? The spread of physical AI is not optional, the column argues, and South Korean industry faces a choice between watching and designing.
Big booths fade as global giants move on
Another change at CES 2026 was not the technology itself, but the distance kept by traditional headliners.
Global conglomerates that once defined CES have changed how they show up. The pattern looks less like simple cost-cutting and more like a shared shift in how companies view the event.
Sony, which has participated for more than 50 years as a leading Japanese presence, no longer filled the main hall under the “Sony Group” name. Instead, it put a narrower theme front and center: its mobility joint venture.
That looked less like a retreat than a focus. Sony has evolved from a home electronics maker into an entertainment company built around content, platforms and image sensors, and a product-lined showroom no longer fits.
Samsung Electronics appeared to reach a similar conclusion. After running one of CES’ largest booths for decades, it chose a separate venue this year rather than the traditional exhibition hall. The approach signaled a move from broadcasting to the general public toward selective communication aimed at key partners and customers. Global giants can now generate attention without CES, and they can choose the timing and format.
The shift also signals how CES itself has changed. It is no longer a “consumer electronics fair” where buyers compared new products and placed orders. Today’s main players are startups, technology platforms and cross-industry combinations. Thousands of smaller companies arrive with new business models and look for partners; conglomerates have little reason to compete in the same way.
That does not mean CES matters less. The column argues it matters more — as a crossroads where regulation, standards, investment and policy signals circulate. Big companies may shrink their exhibition footprint while keeping ties with organizers: less visibility, but no broken connections.
For South Korean companies, the implication is clear: What matters is not how big a booth is, but why they are there — to show technology, find partners or read policy signals. The less clear the purpose, the bigger the booth tends to get and the weaker the message becomes.
Chinese companies push straight into CES
CES 2026 also underscored the growing presence of Chinese companies. The approach was not flashy, but more strategic than before. Despite structural constraints such as tariffs, regulation and U.S.-China tensions, Chinese firms are using CES as a channel to global markets.
CES has long searched for its direction. After a period when it was seen as car-centered, it is again putting consumer products and AI at the forefront. That shift has created an opening for Chinese companies strong in hardware manufacturing, which are pairing products with AI to redefine themselves as technology firms rather than low-cost manufacturers.
Lenovo was cited as a leading example. Once mainly seen as a PC brand, it is embedding AI across devices, solutions and software. Taking the CES keynote stage while running a separate large event signaled confidence — and a belief that CES still boosts global recognition.
Chinese TV makers also stood out. TCL and Hisense delivered their message through scale and location, not just product lineups. Large booths in the middle of the hall remain symbolic, and the companies did not pull back.
Even with tariff barriers, they signaled a willingness to face U.S. consumers and the market directly. Their confidence stemmed from the outreach of Chinese digital services already embedded in U.S. life, from short-form video and e-commerce to generative AI. CES became a place to see that online shift reflected offline.
The stance of CES organizers was also notable. The Consumer Technology Association, which runs CES, publicly said Chinese participation has continued to rise even amid U.S.-China tensions. The message was an effort to keep CES as a platform for dialogue through technology and industry, not a battleground — and a sign that the show is also functioning as a space for tech diplomacy.
CES asks South Korean companies an uncomfortable question
The thread running through CES 2026 was not technology or booth size, but strategic clarity. U.S. companies redefined the stage, and Chinese companies pushed through head-on. The question, the column argues, is what South Korean companies showed.
South Korean firms still had a strong presence, and their names were easy to find across the halls. Their technology remains competitive. The problem comes next: It is hard to sum up South Korean companies’ CES strategy in a single sentence.
For many, participation still appeared driven by complacency. “Because we go every year” and “because we can’t skip it” stand in for strategy. Exhibits remain, but messages scatter; there is plenty of technology, but a weaker narrative.
The issue is not engineering, but planning and judgment.
The same applies to physical AI and industrial transition, which dominated CES 2026. South Korea is one of the few countries with strength in robots, semiconductors and manufacturing at once. Even so, the column questions whether South Korea read as a “designer of industrial transition” on the show floor. Individual technologies were visible, but a clear picture of how industry would be reshaped did not come through.
South Korean companies now need to answer three questions at CES:
- What industry’s future are we describing?
- Who are we trying to persuade?
- Why does it have to be CES?
Without answers, booth size and spectacle become a burden. CES is no longer a stage where participation alone earns credit, and strategy-free attendance does not build presence.
CES 2026 left a blunt message. The technology race has already moved to the next phase. The contest is no longer who has the most technology, but who can tie it into industry and a coherent story. If South Korean companies cannot answer that challenge, CES will become more a cost than an opportunity.
*The author is the editor in chief of Aju Business Daily who led the Aju Media Group team to the CES 2026.
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