Bloomberg Tech at CES: Intel, Mobileye, Robotics, and Media Deals

Intel's Competitive Push with Core Ultra Processors

• 💡 Intel is launching its new Core Ultra Series 3 processors, aiming to regain competitiveness in the mobile computing market.
• 🚀 These processors are built on a new process node (18A) and combine powerful performance with surprising power efficiency, running workloads at 40% lower power than the previous year.
• 🎯 A key feature highlighted is multi-frame generation for mobile gaming, which uses AI to quadruple frame rates for smoother play.
• 📈 Intel sees the AI PC as a significant driver for market growth, with demand from edge customers for real-time optimization and control.

Nvidia, AI, and the Future of Computing

• ⚡ Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang discussed strong demand for their H200 and Blackwell GPUs, with cloud pricing increasing and a positive outlook for the year.
• 🧠 The company is accelerating its EDA and simulation software through a partnership with Siemens, integrating AI for chip design and factory automation.
• 🤖 Nvidia's Vera Rubin GPU system is highlighted for its 10x improvement in energy and cost efficiency over the previous generation, despite its complexity.
• 🚗 Nvidia is also a major player in autonomous driving, with discussions around their systems and a competitive landscape that includes Tesla.

Robotics and Edge AI Opportunities

• 🤖 Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Ammon views robotics as the next major opportunity in edge AI, emphasizing the need for low power, high integration, and connectivity.
• 🏭 The immediate focus for robotics is on industrial applications and structured environments like warehouses, with potential for consumer robots in homes later.
• 💡 A key innovation discussed is using AI to mentor robots, where robots learn new tasks by watching humans and training in simulators.
• 🧩 While humanoids are a big theme at CES, challenges remain in dexterity and unpredictable home environments, suggesting widespread adoption is still some time away.

Media Deals and AI in Entertainment

• 🤝 Warner Bros. Discovery rejected Paramount/Skydance's amended takeover offer, deeming it inadequate and highlighting disagreements on the value of cable networks.
• 🎬 The potential combination of Warner Bros. Discovery and Netflix is seen as strong due to superior storytelling and tech capabilities, but the focus on M&A administration risks falling behind competitors like TikTok and YouTube.
• 📺 AI is poised to revolutionize the media and entertainment industry in 2026, moving beyond discrete projects to an integrated ecosystem approach for personalization, engagement, and retention.
• 💡 Quickplay, a white-label OTT service provider, is leveraging AI to create personalized experiences, generate short-form content, and respond to social signals.

Mobileye's Expansion into Robotics and ADAS

• 🚗 Mobileye is expanding from autonomous driving into robotics with the acquisition of Menty Robotics for $900 million, seeing it as a complementary physical AI domain.
• ⚙️ The company plans a two-phase go-to-market for robotics: first in structured environments (warehouses, factories) with a target manufacturing cost of $20,000 per robot, and later in unstructured environments.
• 📈 Mobileye is confident in its cost-effective autonomous driving solutions, citing deals for 9 million cars for surround ADAS and 100,000 robo taxis with Volkswagen.
• 🗣️ CEO Amnon Shashua addressed the acquisition of Menty Robotics, clarifying it as a related-party transaction and emphasizing the synergies in AI infrastructure and talent.

AI Valuations and IPO Pipeline

• 💰 Venture capital is flowing into AI, with significant funding for research projects and applied AI use cases, though valuations are a tricky topic.
• 🚀 Companies like Anthropic are seen as durable, with strong models and applied AI use cases, potentially leading to an IPO in the next 12-18 months.
• 💬 Discord has confidentially filed for an IPO, joining a growing pipeline of tech listings, though market conditions and valuations remain key considerations.
• 📈 While 2023 saw a strong IPO market, the focus is on whether companies can grow into their valuations and whether the market can sustain a high volume of listings.