Business: Beijing-based Lenovo has announced the opening of an artificial intelligence-based server manufacturing unit in India and a research and development (R&D) lab in Bengaluru. The PC maker’s manufacturing facility is located in Puducherry and will produce 50,000 AI servers and 2,400 advanced GPU units annually. The Puducherry plant is the company’s current headquarters and caters to domestic and international demand. Over 60 per cent of the production is earmarked for export to the Asia-Pacific region, company officials said at an event in Bengaluru today. The factory produces five core products, including three enterprise artificial intelligence rack servers and two 8-way GPU servers.
Amar Babu, president, Asia Pacific, Lenovo, said: “This development is a significant step towards realising Lenovo and the Indian government’s vision of AI for All by leveraging the strength of its talent and industrial ecosystem as an innovation hub.” He also announced the setting up of an artificial intelligence-based R&D lab. This lab will be the focal point for all future server design, development and technology efforts and will strengthen our R&D efforts. These improvements are part of the company’s announced investment of $1 billion over the next three years until 2023.
“We are excited about the growth prospects not only for Lenovo but also for India as a global innovation hub,” said Amit Luthra, Managing Director, Lenovo ISG India. The R&D lab in Bangalore is the fourth R&D infrastructure and fourth R&D lab in the world. The other three are in Morrisville, Beijing and Taipei in the United States. Lenovo started manufacturing in India about 20 years ago and Motorola started R&D about 10 years ago. We have recently achieved major milestones including the launch of the Global Shared Support Center and the launch of PMA-compatible PCs with Indian-made motherboards.
