Samjong KPMG Presents “H·O·R·S·E” as the Key Keyword for CES 2026

“Future Industry Trends as Seen at CES 2026” Report
AI, Robotics, Health-tech, Self-driving, Energy, and More

At CES 2026, the world’s largest electronics and IT exhibition held in Las Vegas, USA, a wide array of technologies and new products leading future innovation were unveiled. Marking the Year of the Red Horse, the key theme of CES 2026 was presented as “H·O·R·S·E” (Health-tech·Open ecosystem·Robot·Self-driving·Energy).

On January 9, Samjong KPMG published a report titled “Future Industry Trends as Seen at CES 2026,” providing a comprehensive analysis of the event’s major technologies and industrial changes, and offering insights into the shifting global technology and industrial paradigm.

Yonhap News Agency

Key Keywords: Health-tech, Open Ecosystem, Robot, Self-driving, Energy

CES 2026 took place in Las Vegas, USA, from January 6 to 9, under the slogan “Innovators show up.” The event attracted approximately 4,500 companies from 160 countries and an estimated 150,000 visitors. Notably, around 900 Korean companies and organizations participated, making Korea the third-largest participating country after the United States and China.

The report highlighted “H·O·R·S·E” as the core keyword of CES 2026, focusing on health-tech, open ecosystems, robots, self-driving, and energy. In particular, as convergence between industries accelerates, this year’s CES saw a significant unveiling of health-tech products centered on digital health.

The report analyzed that open ecosystems based on collaboration between companies were prominent throughout CES. Boston Dynamics, a Hyundai Motor Group affiliate, announced at CES that it had entered into a strategic partnership with Google DeepMind to accelerate the development of future humanoid technologies. Additionally, semiconductor company AMD appeared on the CES keynote stage with OpenAI, reaffirming their partnership, while Nvidia emphasized in its CES speech that “the best model today is the Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) approach.” Samsung Electronics also introduced the “Bespoke AI Family Hub Refrigerator,” equipped with Google’s AI model Gemini.

Physical AI, combining robotics and AI, has emerged in earnest, expanding the application of AI from industrial sites to everyday life. Meanwhile, mobility technologies centered on self-driving attracted attention, with focus on Nvidia’s open-source autonomous driving platform “Alpamayo.” Energy issues have also become a major topic due to the surge in large-scale electricity demand.

10 Major Trends: ‘Game Changers’ and ‘Scale Drivers’

Notably, Samjong KPMG participated as a judge for the Innovation Awards at CES 2026 and included insights from a judge’s perspective on overall technology trends and issues in its report. The technological flow of CES 2026 was categorized into four “Game Changer” technologies leading the paradigm shift in industry, and six “Scale Driver” technologies promoting industrial expansion and ecosystem growth, for a total of ten major trends.

The “Game Changer” technologies that are expected to fundamentally transform industrial structures were identified as: ▲Artificial Intelligence (AI) ▲Robotics ▲Spatial Computing ▲Space Tech. The “Scale Driver” technologies, which are driving broader adoption and market growth across industries, included: ▲Smart Home ▲Digital Health ▲Mobility ▲Lifestyle Tech ▲Fintech ▲ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), all of which were highlighted as key areas at CES 2026.

In the AI sector, as technology advances, the proliferation of services utilizing AI agents has begun in earnest, with numerous real-world applications in enterprise AI and smart cities being showcased. This demonstrates that strategies for expanding and monetizing the AI ecosystem are entering full swing.

In robotics, “Physical AI,” which combines AI and robotics, emerged as a core keyword, with technological competition and global partnerships expanding around humanoid robots. Boston Dynamics’ humanoid robot “Atlas,” Agility Robotics, and joint exhibitions by global companies and Korean academic-industrial alliances garnered significant attention. Home robots capable of appliance control and household chores, such as LG Electronics’ “LG CloiD,” also drew notice.

In mobility, the evolution of self-driving technology and the acceleration of AI-based service innovations such as robotaxis stood out, while next-generation mobility platform technologies like vehicle displays also emerged as major trends. In digital health, AI and big data-based personalized and predictive healthcare expanded, highlighting their potential as future medical models.

In the smart home sector, connectivity between AI-based devices was strengthened, with various home solutions introduced to revolutionize convenience and user experience in daily life. In spatial computing, the advancement of XR (extended reality) device performance is expanding applications beyond media and entertainment to healthcare, distribution, mobility, and other industries.

In fintech, the adoption of AI across the financial industry is spreading, with AI agent-based financial services and heightened emphasis on cybersecurity. The lifestyle tech sector, which integrates advanced technologies into everyday consumer experiences such as fashion, beauty, food, and pet tech, is seeing increased participation from both large corporations and startups.

In space tech, the commercial potential of space technologies is rising, particularly around reusable rockets and expanded satellite utilization. In ESG, “energy” has emerged as a core issue due to the increased electricity demand driven by AI proliferation, with low-power technologies and AI-based power grid management strategies introduced as major trends.

Yeom Seunghoon, Deputy CEO and Technology Industry Leader at Samjong KPMG, stated, “The importance of ‘Game Changer’ technologies that can transform industrial paradigms and ‘Scale Driver’ technologies that promote ecosystem expansion is growing as a future growth engine. Through in-depth analysis of the major technology trends seen at CES 2026, Korean companies must proactively secure future business models.”