Why and how Lenovo is dominating the field of AI

On paper, Lenovo Group and Dell Technologies are remarkably similar, but the two companies are organized and managed differently. This will become clear to most who compare last week’s Lenovo Tech World 2024 event with Dell’s similar event next month.

At the heart of the difference is the nature of acquisitions and executive leadership of both companies. Lenovo’s leadership is geographically diversified, making it a truly global company, while Dell is primarily concentrated in the United States.

Although Michael Dell was instrumental in the company’s growth, he appears to have almost retired. Meanwhile, Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing, known as YY, is still a vital part of the company’s management.

This difference allows Lenovo to move more decisively on industry changes, while Dell seems unable to make big moves and has to make massive cuts to make the same pivot to AI that Lenovo already builds.

Another difference is how much AI Lenovo is using. It’s already using AI and selling mature AI solutions, while Dell is still stuck trying to sell a concept that the firm doesn’t seem to know how to use yet. Dell’s marketing is doing a decent job of covering up these flaws, but the layoff suggests that most customers aren’t fooled.

Let’s discuss some of the highlights of Lenovo Tech World 2024. Then, we’ll finish with my product of the week, an attractive, mechanical laptop that Lenovo highlighted at the event.

Strong open

In the early moments of such an event, you can often see where a company’s heart and focus lies. It might do something funny or feature a leading offering, but sometimes, I’m surprised, and this was one of those times.

Lenovo opens with a demonstration featuring a man with advanced ALS who cannot speak and can only move his eyes. But Lenovo has developed an AI solution for him so that, using AI, he can speak again. This advancement enables both mnemonic, speech and online interaction for individuals with ALS.

This demonstration was incredibly powerful and followed up by covering what Lenovo is doing with AI for education. Education is interesting because it affects the world at large, the segment is not very profitable. Personalized learning for students using AI can be a huge benefit, as it will better engage those students and significantly increase the effectiveness of learning across all populations.

Classes with automated AI quizzes that teach using multiple AIs to create more engaging documents and reports should better prepare students for an AI future than any other existing curriculum.

Both things told me that Lenovo is more about making a difference than making a profit, which is incredibly important when talking about a technology that could wipe out a lot of jobs.

Lenovo has made it clear that it is not working on AI to replace people but rather as a tool that will make students, people with disabilities and employees more valuable over time rather than redundant. This approach stands in stark contrast to Dell’s recent AI-related layoffs.

Lenovo’s AI Library

One of the more interesting offerings at the event was the Lenovo AI library. Most companies aren’t as advanced in using AI as Lenovo. However, Lenovo’s journey into AI has generated a huge amount of data. The company has now put it into a library that can help its customers gain the insights they need to build informed AI solutions.

Many vendors are marketing AI as if it were an end in itself, as digital transformation was once promoted rather than as a tool to achieve specific business goals. This should ensure that Lenovo’s customers succeed while most other efforts are still, unfortunately, yielding significant failures.

Blended hybrid AI

Where Lenovo stands out in these efforts is the blending of multiple AIs into the solution.

Like humans, AIs are not all equal and best suited to the tasks they were designed to perform. However, many projects require different skills, often requiring the use of multiple AI systems for successful completion. Lenovo’s hybrid AI approach is unique in recognizing that it offers greater real-world benefits and a higher probability of success.

An example of this was Lenovo AI Paralegal. My wife and I watch the old TV show “Suits,” which does a surprisingly good job of pointing out the critical nature of paralegals. These people work extra hard, and what they do requires a lot of research, where one mistake can make the difference between winning and losing a case.

Another powerful example is using AI Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy. Qualified ABA practitioners are expensive, and only relatively wealthy children have access to this type of therapy, which is increasingly critical given the extent to which social media tools like TikTok are harming them. The use of AI in this context can reduce the increasing depression and behavioral problems that today’s children suffer from.

Lenovo supplier partnership

Lenovo has long had a strong partnership culture. Most OEMs are far from their technology suppliers, and our industry is famous for vendor conflicts.

Lenovo collaborates surprisingly closely with its suppliers, which has paid dividends with workstations in the past. Lenovo uniquely adopted AMD’s Threadripper and took the workstation lead almost immediately. Today, Lenovo’s closeness with Nvidia has paid off. Lenovo showcased what is arguably the best Nvidia Blackwell solution, which is cooled with Lenovo’s 6th-generation hot-water cooling technology, Neptune.

Blackwell is incredibly powerful but uses a lot of power and generates a lot of heat. Neptune cools the part cost-effectively, which solves two drawbacks associated with a part of this class. Neptune is the most widely used and efficient cooling technology for data centers today.

Vehicular Computing and Robotics

A decade ago, Dell predicted at Dell World that robotics would become the next big thing for enterprises. Autonomous vehicles have since emerged as the main category of autonomous robots, with other types of robots also being developed. This year, Lenovo reinforced this idea by demonstrating current solutions, while Dell has yet to follow through on its prediction.

Working with Nvidia, Lenovo demonstrated a Blackwell-based drive solution for vehicles with 2000 TOPS (Trillions or Tera Operations per Second). High-performance AI PCs have only 40 tops. Dell looked at doing this five years ago but never executed because of a growing problem with that company due to a lack of clear leadership and a willingness to take serious risks.

Lenovo also highlighted its version of the autonomous robotic dog. Other companies have developed robotic dogs, but Lenovo is the first in its class to do so.

Lenovo’s 6-Legged Robot Showcased at Tech World 2024 (Photo by Author)

Additionally, while Lenovo isn’t yet using Nvidia’s Omniverse for simulation training (it tends to leave the training up to the customer), Lenovo is already anticipating that use, putting it at the front of the line for automobile and autonomous robotic training.