AI-powered PC ecosystem to gain ground

High-tech players including Lenovo, Intel roll out products for upper hand

An artificial intelligence-powered personal computer ecosystem is forming in China, and this will boost the popularity of AI PCs in the country, said company executives and experts.

The ecosystem includes hardware makers, chipmakers, software developers and large language model (LLM) developers, which can help popularize AI PCs, or computers that integrate AI into their processors. These PCs are capable of independently running LLMs and applications.

AI PCs have the potential to become exclusive smart assistants that truly understand a user's needs, said Ablikim Abrimiti, vice-president of Lenovo Group.

"It will take time for the entire ecosystem to mature. AI PCs will first go through an AI-ready stage, and the chip architecture will be upgraded to a hybrid AI architecture, which will accelerate AI application innovation. With the embedding of personal LLMs and an open AI application ecosystem, AI PCs will usher into the AI-on stage, making 2024 the first year of AI PCs," Abrimiti said.

AI-powered laptops will account for nearly 90 percent of total laptop sales in China by 2027, according to data from market research company International Data Corp.

By 2026, nearly 50 percent of the processors used by terminal devices in the Chinese market will feature AI engine technology, IDC said.

Peter Chen, vice-president and general manager of China data center and AI group at Intel Corp, said AI is not only changing the way people live, but also effectively bringing changes to the development and innovation of each industry.

Intel said it is committed to offering comprehensive product portfolios, optimized software, diversified tools and a broad ecosystem, to enable more customers to provide support for cloud computing, network and large-scale solutions.

The company unveiled its next-generation processors for ultra-thin laptops last week, mounting a fresh challenge against rivals in the emerging AI PC category.

The newly launched Core Ultra "Meteor Lake" processors pack a central processing unit, a graphics processing unit and, for the first time, a neural processing unit to handle low-power AI tasks.

Intel's move comes at a time when AI and energy efficiency are becoming increasingly important.

As a strategic partner of Intel, Lenovo has unveiled its latest AI PCs powered by the US-based company's latest chips.

Zhou Feng, executive vice-president of NetEase, said AI PCs will bring huge development opportunities to the industry and the company has developed an LLM tailored to the education industry.

Wang Jiping, vice-president of IDC China, said integrating AI engines into electronic devices will be crucial success factors in the near future.

Experts said AI-native applications, or applications developed for the AI era, are growing rapidly in China. Meanwhile, traditional applications will be upgraded to ones powered by LLMs.

Jerry Liu, head of China internet research at UBS, said a new computing cycle will emerge every 10 or 15 years, and generative AI will be the beginning of the next cycle.

"China has more users of generative AI and more data compared to other economies, so I believe there are many opportunities here," Liu said.