Self-driving tech is set to dominate this year’s CES show in Las Vegas, with investors betting that artificial intelligence will reinvigorate an auto industry plagued by slow progress, high costs, safety incidents and tightening regulations, Reuters reported.

Just as automakers have revised their electric vehicle (EV) plans and are looking for their next source of revenue, a number of auto suppliers and startups are lining up to show off their latest hardware and software for autonomous vehicles. Partnerships and deals are expected to be announced that promise to remove much of the driver’s responsibilities or eliminate the need for a human driver altogether.

“This year we’re going to see more and more focus on artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles,” said C.J. Finn, an analyst at PwC, added that how companies use artificial intelligence to solve the challenge of safely launching driverless cars will be closely watched. “I think this connectivity in autonomous vehicles will take center stage,” Finn added, according to Agerpres.

At the same time, artificial intelligence is expected to be “embedded” in even more products, beyond cars, from robots and wearable gadgets to home devices and medical technology.

Several big names in the technology sector, including the CEO of chip manufacturer Nvidia, Jensen Huang, and AMD CEO Lisa Su, will be among the keynote speakers at this year’s Las Vegas show.

CES 2026, one of the largest technology exhibitions in the United States, will be held from January 6 to 9. Formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show and traditionally known as a launchpad for the latest technologies such as TVs, laptops and wearables, CES has become a key destination for automakers launching their electric vehicles in recent years. However, a withdrawal of incentives and policies favorable to electric vehicles by the Trump administration has dampened demand and forced many automakers to abandon their plans to launch new electric vehicles and rethink their strategy.

This revolution will be evident at this year’s CES. Most major automakers have no plans to unveil new electric vehicles this year – a clear difference from previous years.

Commercializing autonomous vehicles is not easy. Heavy investment, regulatory challenges and investigations after a series of crashes have forced many companies to abandon their plans in the field. However, Tesla’s launch of a small robotaxi service with safety monitors in Austin, Texas, last year, as well as the rapid expansion of Alphabet’s Waymo, have breathed new life into the industry.

Driver assistance systems for personal vehicles have improved, with some automakers offering hands-free driving and automatic lane changing on highways. Others, such as Rivian, are aiming to launch “look-ahead” features and autonomous driving on city streets.

“This is starting to align with how people invest their money and how they allocate capital,” Finn said.

Companies, especially automakers, are starting to think strategically about capital investments after losing billions of dollars due to shifts in their electric vehicle strategies. They are also grappling with the effects of high tariffs imposed on imported cars and auto parts by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Many automakers have chosen to absorb most of the cost of tariffs rather than pass them on to customers, putting pressure on profit margins. That, along with increasing competition from Chinese players, will also be a priority for automakers at CES, said Felix Stellmaszek, an analyst at Boston Consulting Group. “The main theme we expect to see at CES is cost and cost competitiveness,” Stellmaszek said.