CES 2026 recap: Morgan Stanley flags 'skyrocketing' AI demand

Investing.com -- Nvidia’s new Rubin platform was said to be the standout theme at CES, with Morgan Stanley saying the company delivered a “decidedly positive” keynote that underscored strengthening momentum across AI hardware, automotive and robotics.

Analyst Joseph Moore wrote that CEO Jensen Huang devoted more time to Rubin than expected at what is typically a consumer-focused event.

Morgan Stanley said “Rubin will again raise the bar for performance,” noting that Nvidia emphasised system-level advances spanning GPU, CPU, networking and software.

Huang also highlighted new BlueField DPUs and Rubin CPX offerings, while describing a new inference memory platform that could “improve TPS up to 5x vs traditional storage.”

Manufacturability was another focus, with Morgan Stanley citing Nvidia’s comments that Rubin is already in “full production,” and that assembly time has been cut to “~5 minutes versus ~2 hours for Blackwell.”

The firm stated that the first rack is already being deployed, with meaningful revenue expected in the second half of 2026.

Moore added that Nvidia described demand for AI and Rubin as “skyrocketing,” and noted that management showed “no hedging on supply or demand,” despite memory remaining a key constraint.

Nvidia is also said to have reiterated that it continues to see demand from China, though licensing for the H200 remains in process.

Beyond data centre systems, Morgan Stanley pointed to Nvidia’s automotive announcements, including a new “reasoning-enabled” autonomous driving model and the upcoming launch of its Mercedes-Benz partnership.

Meanwhile, for AMD, the bank said there was “nothing new in terms of MI450, but testimonials speak to a growing ecosystem around AMD product.”

“We didn’t hear much that alters the debate around AMD stock,” Moore wrote. “The company is maintaining their conviction in MI455 as a leadership product, and with OpenAI’s support as the anchor customer we expect to see a strong ramp in Q3/Q4 of this year.

“That being said we view AMD’s success as partially a function of still overwhelming demand for compute overall vs an emerging TCO advantage vs the competition, something that will have to change to see sustained success as Nvidia continues to push the envelope across the entire technology stack.”

You May Also Be Interested In