CES 2025: less automotive, more AI

AI was clearly the dominant theme at CES 2025. Products become smarter, and humanoid robots are a thing now.

CES is not just the first tech event of the year; it also sets the tone and is an early indicator for the coming year. In previous years, the show was a showcase for the automotive industry’s shift to digital technology and, yes, entertainment. At CES 2025, however, AI was clearly the dominant theme.

AI and smarter products

Many use cases and demos at CES were around Smart TV, Smart Home, Smart Health, Smart Wearables, etc. This is not entirely new. But clearly, most products became “smarter” with the help of AI in general and GenAI in particular. Therefore, I’d simplify and say that most innovations presented this year are related to “software inside” rather than entirely new products or use cases (as opposed to last year, when CES was more about AI and hardware).

Less automotive, but BMW steals the show

Automotive was less present at CES this year compared to previous ones. However, BMW wowed the audience with an awe-inspiring show introducing their “BMW Panoramic iDrive” with a vast in-car entertainment stage inside their vehicle and showcasing “The Neue Klasse” at their partner event.


A white, futuristic concept car is displayed in a showroom with sleek, angular headlights and a minimalist design. The car features a fully transparent roof and yellow interior seats. In the background, another concept car with a more SUV-like design and red interior is visible. A large digital display showing vibrant graphics is projected on the wall behind the cars, giving the space a modern and high-tech feel.

AI optimism

The ballroom was packed when Accenture CEO Julie Sweet took the stage to explain why she believes AI offers huge opportunities. For companies to successfully adopt AI, they need to recognize the role of learning and practice, as well as trust and empathy. Business leaders need to invest in the ability to change themselves and in their ability to bring people along for the ride.

Sometimes, change feels uncomfortable. But amazing things are happening right now, and we have to be disciplined to build a structure — and dream big — to make sure that we use this tremendous technology to benefit everyone. I share her optimism and am sure that AI will help us make everyday tasks more efficient and tackle the big challenges of our time.

Physical AI

Modernizing supply chains to make them more resilient and agile, with real-time flexibility, is the next digital frontier. Kion is teaming with Nvidia and Accenture to optimize supply chains through use of AI-powered robots and digital twins. The three companies jointly showcased the warehouse of the future at CES 2025.

In his keynote, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang explained the details of this exciting collaboration to drive true innovation. Physical AI will also be the basis for a step-change in the development of humanoid robots, which I expect to become “the next big thing”. It was already a big theme at this year’s CES.

Humanoid robots make sense for two (and possibly more) reasons:

  1. Our world is optimised for human beings, so robots need to resemble them to achieve more.
  2. Many low-level tasks in the real world are easy to automate. Roomba was just the beginning.

Another takeaway from Jensen Huang’s keynote: autonomous vehicles have finally arrived, with the successes of Waymo and Tesla. This is something that has been on the cards for more than a decade. Nvidia’s ambitions for AI definitely include self-driving cars, as well as robotics.

Tech Vision 2025

You can’t spell “brain” without AI. Indeed, executives increasingly use artificial intelligence to build their businesses’ cognitive digital brains. That’s one of the insights explored in Accenture’s Technology Vision 2025 (the 25th edition of this iconic trend report) as presented at CES 2025 by Karthik Narain.

Exciting times ahead as AI continues to drive innovation and efficiency across industries!

Roland Mayr leads Accenture Song in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.