Lenovo to manufacture AI servers in India for global markets
What's the story
Lenovo, a leading global technology company, is planning to make India a major export hub for its infrastructure business. The company will design and manufacture artificial intelligence (AI) servers in the country for the international markets. Scott Tease, VP and General Manager of Lenovo's Infrastructure Solutions Group, revealed this strategy to PTI.
Design hub
Bengaluru lab to design AI server systems
Tease said Lenovo will use its Bengaluru development lab to design AI server systems. These designs will then be manufactured at the company's Pondicherry facility for domestic and export markets. "We are going to be designing a lot of our one- and two-socket systems... think of those as the workhorses of AI in the future," Tease told PTI.
Market strategy
Lenovo's initial focus on domestic market
Tease emphasized that Lenovo's initial focus in India would be on serving the domestic market. However, he also hinted at the possibility of manufacturing servers for global markets in the future. "There is no reason at all that the future will prevent us from building servers in India for the rest of the world," Tease said.
Information
Participation in IT hardware production-linked incentive scheme
Lenovo India is one of the companies selected for the ₹17,000 crore IT hardware production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. This move is part of Lenovo's broader strategy to strengthen its presence in India's tech industry and contribute to the country's growth as a global tech hub.
AI accessibility
Lenovo's hybrid AI model for MSMEs
Tease also advocated a hybrid AI model for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in India. He said that heavy investments are not always needed to integrate AI into business operations. "Building a model might require something heavy..., but we can outsource that to cloud providers or GPU-as-a-service providers in India... who can help build the model," he explained.
Language accessibility
Natural language to democratize AI access
Tease also said that natural language, like English, will be the common programming language for AI in the future. This will democratize access to technology and make it more accessible for everyone. He praised the Indian government's approach toward "Sovereign AI," or a nation building its own domestic compute capacity.
Environmental concerns
Lenovo's stance on energy consumption and AI data centers
Tease also addressed the environmental impact of AI data centers' energy consumption. He said the industry needs to move away from traditional air cooling systems, which can add 40% more to costs. Lenovo is pushing for liquid cooling technologies (Lenovo Neptune), which reduce energy consumption by nearly 40% and allow waste heat recycling for other applications.