One technology CEO told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" that he expects the global macro-economy in the next year to mirror that in 2015, even with challenges in China, North Korea and Europe.
"When I look at 2016, I think from our perspective, from a macro-economic perspective, a copy of 2015," said Intel CEO Brian Krzanich. "We saw China slow down in '15. We expect it to stay pretty stable but slower than the growth we've seen in prior years for 2016. Our model says emerging markets, they also are slower as well. But the U.S. and Western Europe continue to grow at the pace they've been growing, as well."
Krzanich spoke Wednesday from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where technology companies are stationed this week to show off their newest products and partnerships. Despite economic uncertainty, Intel has its sights set on the future of the cloud, Krzanich told CNBC.
Intel, a company known for PCs, chips and data centers, has instead showcased futuristic devices like personal-assistant robots at the event, as part of a journey to find "next big experience" consumers are looking for.
Industrial uses of drones, such as inspecting pipelines and looking at cell towers, could be where drones "really kick off," Krzanich said. But he said he sees a natural connection between data centers and devices for consumers' "active lives," like drones and hoverboards used in sports.
Intel announced collaborations with ESPN, New Balance and Oakley this week, following that vein.
"From a consumer standpoint ... I still think it's going to be things like robotics and automation and integration," Krzanich said. "Those are going to be the next emerging trends as our population ages."
Shares of Intel have declined over 5 percent over the past year as PC sales come under pressure from mobile- and cloud-based competitors.
But by linking connected devices to Intel data centers, Krzanich said the company can expand its price points and margins to capitalize on the robotics trend.
"There's this widespread growth of the cloud and the data center occurring," Krzanich said. "Yeah, the big guys are growing quite well. But the hundreds and thousands of little guys ... are actually feeding growth at a faster rate right now."
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