CES 2024: AI Drives Hardware, Robotics, and Media Sector Shifts - Episode Hero Image

CES 2024: AI Drives Hardware, Robotics, and Media Sector Shifts

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TL;DR

  • Nvidia's Jensen Huang forecasts rising hardware prices in the cloud due to smart pricing strategies, indicating strong global demand for AI infrastructure and suggesting H200s will contribute to a "very good year."
  • The memory chip industry faces a "famine" cycle where supply cannot meet short-term demand surges, leading to price increases for high-bandwidth memory used in GPUs and storage.
  • Intel's new Core Ultra Series 3 processors achieve 40% lower power consumption for last year's workloads, positioning them as a competitive offering in mobile computing with strong performance and efficiency.
  • Qualcomm views robotics as the next major edge AI opportunity, requiring high-performance computing and low-power connectivity, with industrial applications expected to lead adoption starting around 2026.
  • Mobileye's acquisition of Menti Robotics for $900 million diversifies its AI focus beyond autonomous driving into humanoids, targeting structured environments first with a projected manufacturing cost of $20,000 per robot.
  • Warner Bros. rejected Paramount's amended takeover offer as "inadequate," highlighting differing valuations of cable networks and suggesting a combination with Netflix could leverage superior storytelling and technology.
  • Media companies risk falling behind competitors like TikTok and YouTube if M&A focus distracts from innovation, especially with AI's transformative potential for consumer experiences and content delivery.
  • AI valuations are complex, with applied AI companies showing durability and rapid growth, but the long-term viability depends on models remaining essential and not being superseded by foundational LLM advancements.

Deep Dive

CES 2024 highlighted significant shifts in technology, particularly in AI's expanding influence across hardware, robotics, and media. While advancements promise increased efficiency and new capabilities, the rapid pace of innovation and evolving market dynamics create both opportunities for disruption and risks of market saturation and valuation challenges. The discussions underscore a critical juncture where the practical application of AI is beginning to dictate business strategy and consumer experience.

Intel is aggressively re-entering the competitive PC processor market with its new Core Ultra Series 3, built on the 18A process node. The primary advantage touted is a significant improvement in power efficiency, offering 40% lower power consumption for workloads compared to previous generations, coupled with enhanced AI capabilities like multi-frame generation for mobile gaming. This push aims to reclaim market share from rivals like AMD and Qualcomm, with Intel projecting strong customer demand and a belief that the "AI PC" will resonate broadly, providing the edge computing equivalent of 40 data centers. The company emphasizes its vertical integration and foundry capabilities as a key differentiator, ensuring supply chain reliability. However, the broader PC market faces forecasts of contraction, with growth dependent on the AI PC's adoption by both corporate and consumer segments, while industry-wide memory supply constraints present a persistent challenge.

Nvidia, a dominant force at CES, is leveraging its AI hardware prowess to forge deeper partnerships, notably with Siemens. This collaboration aims to integrate AI into industrial design and manufacturing processes, accelerating simulation software and factory automation. Nvidia's CEO, Jensen Huang, projects significant growth, anticipating increased hardware pricing in the cloud due to strong AI demand, and forecasts over $500 billion in sales for its Blackwell and Rubin platforms. The company's AI strategy extends to autonomous driving, where it faces competition from Tesla, and to the burgeoning field of robotics, which it labels the "ChatGPT moment" for the sector. This surge in AI demand is also driving a recovery in the memory chip market, with prices increasing due to supply-demand imbalances.

Qualcomm is positioning robotics as the next major frontier for AI, viewing it as an "edge AI problem" requiring high-performance computing and low-power connectivity, akin to its strategy in automotive. The company sees significant opportunities in both industrial and consumer robotics, with industrial applications like shelf restocking expected to materialize by 2028, while fully autonomous humanoid robots for home use are a longer-term prospect. This aligns with a broader trend at CES showcasing humanoids performing various tasks, signaling increased industry confidence in live demonstrations but also highlighting ongoing challenges in dexterity and unpredictable home environments. Beyond robotics, the health and wellness sector is integrating AI into diverse form factors, from toothbrushes predicting health issues to longevity mirrors and smart night guards, indicating a growing focus on predictive and personalized healthcare.

Mobileye, a leader in autonomous driving technology, is expanding into robotics through its $900 million acquisition of Menti Robotics. CEO Amnon Shashua views this as a synergistic move that leverages Mobileye's AI and computer vision expertise to create a new growth engine, focusing initially on structured environments like warehouses and later on unstructured home use. Despite competition from Nvidia in autonomous driving, Mobileye remains confident in its cost-effective sensor and chip solutions, projecting significant growth in robotaxi deployments. The company is also evolving its ADAS offerings with surround sensor suites for enhanced safety and driver monitoring.

The media and entertainment landscape is undergoing significant upheaval, evidenced by Warner Bros. rejecting Paramount's amended takeover offer. This situation highlights a broader tension in valuing traditional cable networks versus streaming assets in a rapidly shifting ecosystem. The potential combination of Netflix and Warner Brothers is seen as a strong contender, merging Netflix's technological and personalization strengths with Warner's content library and storytelling capabilities. However, a significant risk across the industry is the distraction of M&A activity, diverting focus from innovation and competition from social media platforms and the creator economy. The integration of AI is poised to be a major driver of innovation in 2026, moving beyond discrete projects to foundational ecosystem-wide applications that enhance consumer experience, personalization, and retention.

AI valuations remain a complex and dynamic area. While significant capital flows into foundational AI research, the valuations of applied AI companies are seen as extraordinary but justifiable due to rapid progress and actual use cases. Companies like Anthropic are considered durable due to their strong models, capital efficiency, and applied AI solutions, such as Claude, which is transforming engineering departments. The potential for companies like Anthropic to go public in the near future is high, though strategic timing will be crucial given market volatility. The IPO pipeline for tech companies is growing, with platforms like Discord preparing for listings, underscoring a renewed investor interest in venture-backed tech, though current valuations must be reconciled with previous private market highs.

Action Items

  • Audit AI agent capabilities: Assess 3-5 current AI agent deployments for their ability to solve customer problems without user realization.
  • Measure AI PC adoption impact: Track compute equivalence of AI PCs deployed over 2 years against 40 data centers for edge computing insights.
  • Evaluate robotics market entry strategy: Analyze phase 1 (structured environments) and phase 2 (unstructured environments) go-to-market plans for Menti Robotics.
  • Assess AI valuation durability: For 3-5 applied AI companies, determine model robustness and business model resilience on top of LLM innovation.
  • Track media ecosystem shifts: Monitor social media platform and creator economy impact on viewership and ad dollars for 3-5 key players.

Related Episodes

Key Quotes

"Hardware pricing is actually going up in the cloud. All of the hardware is consumed in the cloud, and now pricing, smart pricing, is starting to go up. And so that tells you about the demand that's being generated all over the world. So H200s, I think, is going to contribute also to that. And I think all told, I think we should have a very good year."

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang explains that increasing hardware prices in the cloud indicate strong global demand for their products. Huang anticipates that the H200 will contribute to this demand, leading to a positive financial outlook for the company.

"Yeah, I mean, as always with the memory chip industry, you either got a feast or a famine. At the moment, we're in a famine. When we're in a famine, the price goes up, right? And that is exactly what's happening right now. Supply demand, it always has been. They can't build factories fast enough, they can't build production fast enough to meet these short-term surges in demand."

Bloomberg's Ian King describes the cyclical nature of the memory chip industry, noting that the current "famine" or shortage is driving up prices. King explains that manufacturers are unable to quickly increase production to meet sudden spikes in demand.

"We're announcing a big partnership between us. We've known each other for a long time, but this, the partnership we're announcing, is really a big deal. One, we're accelerating their EDA software. We're accelerating their simulation software. We're integrating AI technology, physical AI and agentic AI, into their Teamcenter and their factory automation operating system."

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang details a significant partnership with Siemens, focusing on accelerating software for chip design and simulation. Huang highlights the integration of AI technologies into Siemens' factory automation systems.

"We took our most powerful mobile processor from last year and built it on the most power-efficient mobile processor from last year, combining those two capabilities. And so we run workloads from last year at 40% lower power this year on this processor. And it's, I asked, I've been asking, knowing I've been coming here, I've been asking our customers, what would you say? They'd say, super powerful, surprisingly power efficient. That's what they told me last night."

Intel's Jim Johnson explains that their new Core Ultra Series 3 processors combine the power of their previous top mobile processor with the efficiency of their previous power-efficient processor. Johnson notes that customers have described the new processors as "super powerful" and "surprisingly power efficient," running workloads at 40% lower power.

"Robotics is the next big opportunity in AI. That's according to Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon. Caro sat down with him here at CES in Las Vegas yesterday. Listen to this. Yes, look, we're incredibly excited about this. This is a new chapter, I think, of the Qualcomm expansion and diversification. I think we're going to robotics. We like robotics a lot because by definition it's an edge AI problem to solve, no different than what we did in automotive."

Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon identifies robotics as the next major opportunity in AI, viewing it as an "edge AI problem" similar to their work in the automotive sector. Amon expresses excitement about this new chapter for Qualcomm's expansion and diversification.

"Well, Mobileye is an AI company in the field of autonomous driving, driving assist, the full spectrum of computer vision and AI to control cars. And humanoid robotics has been recognized in the past two, three years as a complementary domain. And Mobileye wants to, it's not only another growth engine, but from a technological point of view, if you are an actor in this area of physical AI, you want to then extend it to the full scope of physical AI."

Mobileye CEO Amnon Shashua explains that their acquisition of Menti Robotics is a strategic move to expand their AI capabilities beyond autonomous driving into humanoid robotics. Shashua views robotics as a complementary domain to their existing expertise in computer vision and AI for vehicles, representing a new growth engine.

"This, I think, is the biggest risk in any big transaction and any M&A activity, right? The focus becomes how do these companies potentially come together? Everybody internally thinks about what is my role in this transition, and no one's focused on the fact that they're competing with an ecosystem that is evolving around them, right? We saw that social media platforms are taking over not only viewership but total ad dollars this year. There is a huge shift into the creator economy, and if you're just focused on how do we put these two companies together versus the competition that is outpacing you with TikTok and YouTube and others, you're going to be further behind by the time you complete this transaction."

Paul Pastor of Quickplay highlights the risk of M&A activity distracting companies from evolving market competition. Pastor argues that focusing internally on integration can lead to falling behind competitors like TikTok and YouTube, especially with shifts towards social media and the creator economy.

"Valuations are a tricky topic, and I feel like they always prove me to write wrong in hindsight. But if you break down the kinds of companies that get funded today, there's a ton of dollars going into a handful of big research projects there. The valuation, you guys guess is as good as mine. It's really about, you know, ownership and that's enough to incentivize the teams because they're research projects. You don't know when they're going to become businesses or if they're going to become businesses. And then there is companies where the real use cases of applied AI use cases. There the valuations sound extraordinary at the moment, but the progress happens so fast in some of these companies that they grow into it fast as well."

General Catalyst CEO Hemant Taneja discusses the complexity of AI valuations, distinguishing between research projects and applied AI companies. Taneja notes that while research projects have uncertain business outcomes, applied AI companies with clear use cases are seeing extraordinary valuations that they can grow into rapidly due to fast progress.

Resources

External Resources

Books

  • "The Information" by Ian King - Mentioned in relation to Ian King's coverage of semiconductors.

Articles & Papers

  • "Bloomberg Tech at CES, Day 2" (Bloomberg) - Transcript of the episode discussing various tech industry topics.

People

  • Jim Johnson - Intel Client Computing Group SVP and General Manager, discussed new processors and AI PCs.
  • Jensen Huang - Nvidia CEO, discussed hardware pricing, demand, and partnerships.
  • Elon Musk - Mentioned in relation to autonomous driving discussions with Jensen Huang.
  • Roland Busch - Siemens CEO, discussed partnership with Nvidia on AI efforts.
  • Cristiano Amon - Qualcomm CEO, discussed robotics as the next big opportunity in AI.
  • Amnon Shashua - MobilEye CEO, discussed the acquisition of Menti Robotics and the company's AI strategy.
  • Paul Pastor - Quickplay Chief Business Officer, discussed the media and streaming industry and potential mergers.
  • Hemant Taneja - General Catalyst CEO, discussed AI valuations and the durability of applied AI companies.
  • Dario Amodei - Anthropic CEO, mentioned in relation to Anthropic's AI models and use cases.
  • Sam Kelly - Bloomberg reporter, discussed observations from CES regarding robotics and health/wellness tech.
  • Cara - Bloomberg host, discussed various tech topics and interviews.
  • Ed Lovelace - Bloomberg host, discussed various tech topics and interviews.
  • Nicole - Mentioned in relation to migraine medication advertisements.
  • Ian King - Mentioned for his decades of work in the chip sector and coverage of semiconductors.
  • Joe B Aviation - Mentioned as a guest for a future conversation.
  • Jacob Helberg - Mentioned as a guest for a future conversation.

Organizations & Institutions

  • Intel - Discussed for its new processors and AI PC strategy.
  • Nvidia - Discussed for its AI hardware, autonomous driving offerings, and partnerships.
  • Siemens - Discussed for its partnership with Nvidia on AI efforts.
  • MobilEye - Discussed for its autonomous driving technology and expansion into robotics.
  • Menti Robotics - Discussed as the company acquired by MobilEye.
  • Qualcomm - Discussed for its focus on robotics as an AI opportunity.
  • Warner Bros. Discovery - Discussed in relation to its rejection of Paramount's takeover offer.
  • Paramount - Discussed in relation to its takeover offer from Warner Bros. Discovery.
  • Sky Dance - Mentioned as part of the Paramount takeover bid.
  • Netflix - Mentioned as a potential partner for Warner Bros. Discovery.
  • Quickplay - Discussed for its white-label OTT services and AI integration.
  • General Catalyst - Discussed as the venture capital firm of Hemant Taneja.
  • Anthropic - Discussed for its AI models (Claude) and their durability.
  • OpenAI - Mentioned in relation to AI and its potential impact on viewing experiences.
  • Disney - Mentioned in relation to a partnership with OpenAI.
  • Volkswagen - Mentioned for its autonomous driving initiatives with MobilEye.
  • Foxconn - Mentioned as a partner for Siemens' factory automation.
  • ASML - Mentioned in relation to Intel's use of EUV technology.
  • Tencent - Mentioned in relation to China's tech companies.
  • IDC - Mentioned as a forecaster for the PC market.
  • Activision Blizzard - Mentioned in relation to the new CEO of Discord.
  • King - Mentioned in relation to the new CEO of Discord.
  • Motive - Mentioned as a company waiting in the wings for an IPO.
  • Goldman Sachs - Mentioned as working on Discord's IPO.
  • J.P. Morgan - Mentioned as working on Discord's IPO.
  • J&J - Mentioned in relation to migraine medication.
  • Chase for Business - Mentioned as a sponsor.
  • Aura - Mentioned in relation to health and wellness wearables.
  • FDA - Mentioned in relation to health and wellness regulations.
  • Kindred Ventures - Mentioned as a guest for a future conversation.

Tools & Software

  • Teamcenter - Mentioned as part of a partnership between Nvidia and Siemens.
  • Factory Automation Operating System - Mentioned as part of a partnership between Nvidia and Siemens.
  • EDA Software - Mentioned as being accelerated by Nvidia and Siemens.
  • Simulation Software - Mentioned as being accelerated by Nvidia and Siemens.
  • Claude - Mentioned as Anthropic's AI model redefining engineering departments.
  • Vyepti - Mentioned as a medication for migraine prevention.
  • UpTiva - Mentioned as a medication for migraine prevention.

Websites & Online Resources

  • sierra.ai - Mentioned for AI agents.
  • vyepti.com - Mentioned for prescribing information for Vyepti.
  • uptiva.com - Mentioned for prescribing information for UpTiva.
  • bloomberg.com - Mentioned for Sam Kelly's writing.
  • chase.com/business - Mentioned for Chase for Business.

Other Resources

  • AI Agents - Discussed as impressive and potentially indistinguishable from humans.
  • Migraine - Discussed as a condition impacting life.
  • Chipmaker's Efforts - Discussed in relation to Intel's competitiveness.
  • Takeover Offer - Discussed in relation to Warner Bros. and Paramount.
  • Geopolitics - Mentioned as a ruling factor in markets.
  • H200 - Mentioned as a Nvidia product China is reportedly halting orders for.
  • Blackwell - Mentioned as a Nvidia product.
  • Rubin - Mentioned as a Nvidia product.
  • Hardware Pricing - Discussed as increasing in the cloud.
  • Smart Pricing - Discussed as starting to increase in the cloud.
  • Semiconductors - Discussed extensively.
  • Memory Chip Industry - Discussed in terms of feast or famine cycles.
  • High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) - Discussed in relation to GPUs.
  • Autonomous Driving - Discussed as a focus area for Nvidia and Elon Musk/Tesla.
  • Physical AI - Discussed as a massive opportunity in robotics.
  • Edge AI - Discussed as a problem solved by robotics.
  • AI Factories - Mentioned in relation to Nvidia's operations.
  • Industrial PCs - Discussed as being supercharged with AI capabilities.
  • Process Node 18a - Mentioned as Intel's new process node.
  • Core Ultra Series 3 - Mentioned as Intel's new processor series.
  • AI PC - Discussed as a potential driver for PC market growth.
  • Multi Frame Generation - Mentioned as an AI capability in Intel's Series 3 GPU for mobile gaming.
  • Edge Computing - Discussed in relation to Intel's Series 3 processors.
  • Foundries - Discussed in relation to Intel's vertical integration.
  • Ribbon FET (Gate All Around) - Mentioned as an innovation in Intel's 18a process.
  • Backside Power Delivery - Mentioned as an innovation in Intel's 18a process.
  • EUV Technology - Mentioned in relation to Intel's 18a process.
  • Memory - Discussed as an issue impacting pricing.
  • Robotics - Discussed as the next big opportunity in AI.
  • Humanoid Robots - Discussed as a significant opportunity in robotics.
  • ADAS (Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems) - Discussed in relation to MobilEye's offerings.
  • Robotaxis - Discussed as a future growth engine for MobilEye.
  • Surround ADAS - Discussed as an evolution of ADAS.
  • Media and Streaming - Discussed in relation to Warner Bros. and Paramount.
  • Cable Networks - Discussed in relation to their valuation in media deals.
  • Creator Economy - Discussed as a shift in the media landscape.
  • Short Form Content - Discussed as a way to engage consumers.
  • AI for Media - Discussed as a major innovation for 2026.
  • OTT Services - Discussed as Quickplay's core offering.
  • AI Valuations - Discussed as a tricky topic.
  • LLM Innovation - Discussed as a foundation for applied AI companies.
  • Foundation Models - Discussed in relation to Menti Robotics and AI 21.
  • Agents - Discussed in relation to AI 21.
  • Venture Capital - Discussed in relation to funding AI companies.
  • IPO Pipeline - Discussed in relation to tech companies.
  • Gaming Chat Platform - Described as the origin of Discord.
  • Monetization - Discussed as a focus for Discord's new CEO.
  • Health and Wellness Tech - Discussed in various form factors at CES.
  • Longevity Mirror - Mentioned as a health and wellness device.
  • Smart Night Guard - Mentioned as a health and wellness device.
  • Sleep Tracking - Mentioned in relation to smart night guards.
  • Sleep Apnea - Mentioned in relation to smart night guards.
  • Female User Base - Mentioned in relation to Aura wearables.
  • Related Party Transaction - Discussed in relation to Amnon Shashua and Menti Robotics.
  • Computer Vision - Discussed as a core competency of MobilEye.
  • Physical AI - Discussed as a domain MobilEye wants to extend into.
  • Structured Environments - Discussed as the first phase for Menti Robotics' go-to-market.
  • Unstructured Environments - Discussed as the second phase for Menti Robotics' go-to-market.
  • Foundation Model (Cloud) - Mentioned in relation to Menti Robotics' learning process.
  • Simulator - Mentioned in relation to Menti Robotics' learning process.
  • Imaging Radars - Discussed as a key technology for MobilEye.
  • AI 21 - Discussed in relation to foundation models and agents.
  • Tencent - Mentioned in relation to China's tech companies.

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