As 2025 draws to a close, the technology world is witnessing a new era. This week, in particular, there have been some changes in the semiconductor and robotics industries that are setting the course for 2026.

​1. Tech rally in the stock market: Nvidia and Micron on top

​Last Friday (December 19), the US stock market closed with a great momentum. This was due to the incredible performance of AI-related companies.

​Chip-makers’ triumph: Shares of memory chip maker Micron Technology (MU) rose 7%. In addition, shares of AI chip giants NVIDIA and AMD also increased by 4% and 6%, respectively. Investors believe that big tech companies will spend a record amount of money in 2026 to build AI infrastructure.

2. Chef Robot and ‘Chef+’ Debut

​AI has also entered the world of food preparation in a grand way. Chef Robotics recently unveiled their most advanced assembly robot ‘Chef+’.

​This robot is twice as powerful as before and has a new tool for automatically arranging food (Meal Flattening). These AI robots are now working alongside humans in commercial kitchens.

​3. Open Source Robotics and New Standards

​Two big announcements came this week to make robotics accessible to everyone:

​MIPI-C Standard: Taiwanese company Advantech has launched an open specification called ‘MIPI-C’ for robotic vision or the ability of robots to see through their eyes. This will revolutionize the creation of humanoid or human-looking robots.

​RealSource Dataset:
A massive dataset from Beijing’s Humanoid Robot Data Training Center has been open-sourced, which will help robot makers around the world train their robots to perform tasks in real environments.

​4. Jeff Bezos’ new AI startup?

​There are rumors in the tech community that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is preparing a new major investment to work on ‘Physical AI’ or AI with physical capabilities. It is believed that it will directly compete with Elon Musk’s Tesla Optimus project.

​Other tech news at a glance: ​

SpaceX and EchoStar:
SpaceX is going through a major legal process to increase its satellite spectrum, which will further improve high-speed internet services worldwide. ​Bitcoin Update: Bitcoin’s price rose again last Friday, touching $88,800.

Prediction:
In 2026, we may see smart glasses that will greatly reduce the need for smartphones.