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.

Key Takeaways AMD CEO Lisa Su told CNBC in an interview Tuesday that she believes physical AI enabling autonomous machines such as humanoid robots and self-driving cars could be the "next big thing."Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang earlier this week suggested a pivotal moment in robotics with AI may have already arrived.

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.

AMD unveiled Ryzen AI 400 and Embedded processors at CES 2026, touting up to 60 TOPS NPUs and new chips for laptops, desktops, and edge devices.

Humanoids, robotaxis and industrial bots dominate the year’s biggest consumer technology show. Their usefulness remains an open question

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,

Two-legged robots have a tendency to fall over and "need human intervention to get back up," like tortoises fallen on their backs. Because they're heavy and unstable, they are "currently unsafe for humans to be close to when they are walking."

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

Robots at CES 2026 are smarter, more helpful and more fun. Here are our favorites so far.