Chinese tech giant Lenovo targets US$16 billion in sales of new AI-powered computers, smartphones via e-commerce partner JD.com

Lenovo Group, the world's largest personal computer (PC) maker, and Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com have renewed their partnership with a mission to drive sales of new artificial intelligence (AI) devices to consumers across the nation.

The two Hong Kong-listed partners are targeting 120 billion yuan (US$16.6 billion) in sales over the 2024-2026 period via JD.com's online and offline channels, covering Lenovo's next-generation AI PCs, AI-powered smartphones, tablets and other "AI-oriented infrastructure such as servers", according to a statement published on Sunday by both companies on their respective WeChat accounts.

That total would double the three-year, 60-billion-yuan goal the two firms had set in 2016, which was "successfully completed", according to their statement. They said JD.com "has long been the largest retailer of Lenovo's consumer electronic products".

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Their new deal also involves AI marketing, smart logistics delivery and trade-in services via JD.com.

Computer giant Lenovo Group unveiled its latest portfolio of artificial intelligence devices and infrastructure solutions at annual trade show MWC Barcelona, which was held in February. Photo: Lenovo alt=Computer giant Lenovo Group unveiled its latest portfolio of artificial intelligence devices and infrastructure solutions at annual trade show MWC Barcelona, which was held in February. Photo: Lenovo>

"Lenovo has entered into a new decade of embracing AI," said company executive vice-president Liu Jun, who also serves as president of China operations. He also assured the partnership's commitment to promote "AI for the benefit of tens of thousands of families and industries".

Beijing- and Morrisville, North Carolina-based Lenovo's sharpened focus on AI reflects efforts in the global PC industry to integrate the technology into various products and services, in response to a projected shift in demand to machines that can run generative AI tasks locally.

That trend is expected to stimulate another industry refresh cycle, as users require devices designed for more creativity and productivity, Lenovo chairman and chief executive Yang Yuanqing said during the company's December quarter earnings webcast in February.

At the firm's 9th Global Tech World event held in Austin, Texas, last October, Lenovo launched its "AI for All" strategy that covers purpose-built AI-ready devices, infrastructure, solutions and services. In August, the company announced a US$1 billion investment over three years in AI innovation.

Lenovo, which operates in more than 180 markets worldwide, is rolling out its first-generation AI PCs in the first half of this year, executive vice-president Luca Rossi, who also heads the company's Intelligent Devices Group, said during February's earnings webcast.

Rossi assured that "there will be several generations of AI PCs with evolutionary and more sophisticated features going forward", adding that Lenovo's portfolio of AI devices will "dramatically expand" from the second half of 2024 through 2025.

Lenovo's AI strategy received a major push in January at the CES trade show in Las Vegas, where the company unveiled a line-up of more than 40 new devices and solutions powered by AI.

E-commerce partner JD.com, meanwhile, has also been stepping up its own AI development efforts. In July last year, JD.com launched its AI large language model (LLM) ChatRhino, called Yanxi in Chinese, that purportedly offers targeted solutions across a range of industries, from retail and logistics to finance and healthcare. LLM is the technology used to train ChatGPT and other generative AI services.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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