CES 2026: Bosch Bridges Physical And Digital Worlds
Bosch “raised the steaks” at its opening press conference on Tuesday morning at CES 2026, with Top Chef All-Star and Food Network Star Marcel Vigneron joining Tanja Rückert, Bosch Board Member, and Paul Thomas, president of Bosch in North America, on stage as they emphasized the company’s commitment to equal strength in both hardware and software.
Bosch noted that while it has long been defined by engineering and manufacturing, software has been a core capability for decades. That foundation has supported the company’s push into the Internet of Things and Industry 4.0, and now underpins its ambitions in artificial intelligence.
One example showcased at CES was Origify, Bosch’s smartphone-based anti-counterfeiting technology. Instead of relying on added identifiers like QR codes or tags, the system analyzes the natural surface patterns of objects to generate a unique digital identity. A companion app can then verify authenticity in real time. Bosch positioned Origify as a way to address counterfeit goods across categories from fashion to automotive parts—an issue it said remains a growing global problem.
In the home, Bosch focused on AI and connectivity as ways to simplify daily routines rather than add complexity.
“We are leveraging our software competence to enable hardware to do something revolutionary. We are helping it evolve,” said Rückert. “In the past, if you wanted something more up to date, you had to trade in your old product for a new model. Thanks to comprehensive connectivity, many Bosch appliances can now gain completely new capabilities through over-the-air updates at no additional cost to their users.”
Vigneron demonstrated Bosch’s “Cook AI” concept by cooking thick steaks to medium rare perfection on an AutoChef induction cooktop. Using generative AI, sensors, and Bluetooth temperature tracking, “Cook AI” is designed to guide users toward precise cooking results and make adjustments automatically, no matter their cooking experience level.
“That’s ultimately what we’re aiming for,” said Thomas during the cooking demonstration. “We want the seamless functionality of our products, with their enhanced digital features, to empower and enable people. Or as we like to say, the more you Bosch, the more you feel like a Bosch.”
Mobility was another major theme at the press conference, with Bosch highlighting its vehicle motion management software, which coordinates functions across braking, steering, suspension, and powertrain systems. Available at launch or via updates, the software enables different driving modes and now supports control across six degrees of freedom. According to the company, this could improve vehicle dynamics and help reduce motion sickness, an increasingly relevant issue as autonomous driving becomes more common.
Looking ahead, Bosch expects the majority of new vehicles to be software-defined by the end of the decade. Its S-Core initiative, developed with subsidiary eCars, aims to provide an open-source middleware platform that automakers can use as a common foundation. Bosch said the goal is to lower development costs, speed time-to-market, and reduce compatibility challenges across systems.
Beyond consumer and automotive applications, Bosch described a new collaboration with Microsoft centered on “manufacturing co-intelligence.” Dayan Rodriguez, corporate vice president of manufacturing and mobility at Microsoft, introduced collaboration plans to apply AI agents to factory operations, with the aim of “optimizing production, anticipating failures earlier, and making industrial environments safer and more efficient.”
Across each business segment, Bosch returned to a consistent argument: When hardware and software are developed together, products can evolve, gain new capabilities, and ultimately feel more responsive to how people actually use them.
“At Bosch, our innovation has always been directed by a simple goal: Make life better through technology,” Rückert concluded. “We are committed to creating people-centric tech by seamlessly bridging the software/hardware divide. We deliver technologies that are truly ‘Invented for Life.'”
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