When Dr. Lisa Su steps onto the stage at the Palazzo Ballroom in Las Vegas tonight, she won't just be delivering a product presentation—she'll be making AMD's case for why the artificial intelligence revolution shouldn't belong to Nvidia alone.

The CES 2026 keynote, scheduled for 6:30 PM PT on January 5, comes at a pivotal moment for AMD. The company's stock jumped 6% on the first trading day of 2026 as investors positioned themselves ahead of expected announcements about next-generation Ryzen processors, AI accelerators, and the company's roadmap for challenging Nvidia's dominance in the data center AI chip market.

The Stakes Have Never Been Higher

AMD enters 2026 as a company transformed. Under Su's leadership since 2014, AMD has evolved from a struggling also-ran into a formidable competitor across consumer, enterprise, and now AI markets. But the AI chip battle represents an entirely different scale of opportunity—and challenge.

"AMD will share how the broad AMD portfolio of CPUs, GPUs, adaptive computing, and AI software and solutions empowers customers and partners to solve the world's most important challenges," the company stated in its pre-event communications.

The keynote will highlight AMD's vision for delivering future AI solutions across the entire computing spectrum—from cloud to enterprise, edge to consumer devices.

What to Expect Tonight

Industry analysts expect AMD to unveil several significant products and roadmap updates:

Consumer Processors

  • Ryzen 7 9850X3D: An upgraded version of AMD's popular 3D V-Cache gaming processor with improved single-threaded performance
  • Ryzen 9000G Series: New desktop APUs built on the Zen 5 architecture, targeting mainstream consumers
  • Ryzen AI 400 "Gorgon Point": Mobile processors featuring AI 9 465, AI 7 450, and AI 5 430 variants designed to compete directly with Intel's Panther Lake for the AI PC market

Data Center and AI

  • EPYC "Venice" Updates: Next-generation server processors targeting hyperscale data centers
  • Instinct MI350/MI400 Roadmap: AMD claims the MI400X will deliver 10x performance versus the current MI300X generation, a bold assertion that would significantly close the gap with Nvidia's Blackwell architecture

Graphics Technology

  • FSR Redstone: AMD's answer to Nvidia's DLSS 4, previewed in December and expected to receive a formal launch announcement

The Nvidia Shadow

Su's keynote follows just hours after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's own CES presentation, which wrapped up at 1:00 PM PT. This scheduling isn't coincidental—it gives AMD the opportunity to respond directly to whatever Nvidia announces.

The rivalry between the two chipmakers has intensified dramatically as AI has become the dominant theme in technology. Nvidia commands approximately 80% of the AI accelerator market, but AMD has been steadily gaining traction with enterprise customers seeking alternatives to Nvidia's premium pricing.

"Fidelity International calls AI 'the defining theme for equity markets' in 2026. JPMorgan Wealth Management says 'The biggest risk, to us, is not having exposure to this transformational technology.'"

The Broader AI PC Push

Beyond data center chips, a significant portion of tonight's presentation will likely focus on the emerging "AI PC" category. AMD's Ryzen AI processors with integrated neural processing units (NPUs) represent the company's play for the next generation of personal computing.

With Microsoft's Copilot+ requirements driving demand for local AI processing capabilities, the battle for AI PC supremacy is just beginning. AMD's strategy centers on offering competitive AI capabilities at lower power consumption than Intel's competing solutions.

Market Implications

The semiconductor sector kicked off 2026 with notable gains, with AMD's 6% jump leading a broader rally that included advances for Nvidia, Intel, and memory chipmakers. The Nasdaq Composite's first-day performance was heavily influenced by these semiconductor moves.

For AMD investors, tonight's keynote represents more than just product news—it's a test of whether the company can articulate a compelling enough vision to justify continued multiple expansion in an increasingly competitive market.

The presentation will stream live on the CES YouTube channel and AMD's corporate website starting at 6:30 PM PT.