From "tool" to "partner" evolution, hybrid AI will usher in a super trend.

In February 2025, LENOVO GROUP presented an impressive report card at the third quarter financial report meeting for the fiscal year 2024, with double-digit growth in the three major business groups, IDG, ISG, and SSG. Behind this "counter-cyclical growth" performance, a deeper transformation is taking place - a strategic layout centered around Hybrid AI is driving Lenovo's transition from a hardware manufacturer to an intelligent ecosystem leader. In the evolution of artificial intelligence from "tool" to "partner," Lenovo's Hybrid AI strategy demonstrates remarkable foresight and inclusivity. It not only avoids the energy consumption trap of cloud-based AI but also overcomes the computational bottleneck of end-point and edge AI, all while reconstructing the global AI governance framework from a unique Chinese enterprise perspective. Facing the opportunities brought by AI, Lenovo, leveraging its own strengths, launched the Lenovo Hybrid AI Advantage Collection at last year's Tech World, providing enterprises with a full-stack AI solution and services covering everything from intelligent devices and infrastructure to application layers. The three key capabilities of the Lenovo Hybrid AI Advantage Collection are: First, leveraging Lenovo's strengths in hardware, edge, and cloud to create the most advanced and reliable AI infrastructure for customers, providing the necessary computational support. Second, Lenovo already has over 200 AI application scenarios and templates globally, covering general business scenarios such as marketing, legal, and supply chain, as well as vertical industries like manufacturing, logistics, and retail, helping customers quickly deploy AI applications. Third, addressing the complexity of AI deployment and application as well as the long investment return cycle, Lenovo has introduced AI Rapid Start Services, which can enable customers to deploy AI applications based on their own data in a comprehensive manner within 90 days, achieving the investment return brought by AI. The Chairman and CEO of LENOVO GROUP, Yang Yuanqing, has keenly captured the wave of this technological revolution: the Hybrid AI Advantage Collection is a strategic focus for Lenovo, driving further growth in the ISG and SSG businesses. This not only interprets Lenovo's performance in the previous quarter well but also lays the foundation for sustaining growth and continuous profitability in the future. Looking closely at the Lenovo Hybrid AI Advantage Collection framework, within this framework: The first layer helps enterprise customers build a computational platform using architectures such as end-point, edge, cloud, and network. The second layer is a data platform that helps users prepare, clean, and integrate data, as data is the "fuel" for artificial intelligence. The third layer involves using different models to process different data, such as DeepSeek, which significantly improves model efficiency and accelerates the implementation of artificial intelligence. The fourth layer includes various horizontal AI solutions, embedding AI in past applications, such as SAP solutions for ERP, Salesforce solutions for CRM, etc., helping users design and deploy new solutions. This brings customers direct benefits - optimizing processes, increasing productivity, fostering innovation, and modernizing artificial intelligence. Hybrid AI: the inevitable choice for technological evolution and industry needs Paradigm shift in global AI computation deployment The current development of the AI industry faces two core contradictions: Skyrocketing cloud-based computation costs: Training models like GPT-4 consume millions of dollars in electricity, making it difficult for small and medium-sized enterprises to bear. Pressure on data privacy and compliance: Regulations like GDPR in the EU and China's Cybersecurity Law force companies to seek localized solutions. In this context, the Lenovo Hybrid AI Advantage Collection demonstrates unique value: End-point AI: By using lightweight algorithms, devices can have local inference capabilities, meeting the data privacy needs of scenarios like education and healthcare. Edge AI: Deploying lightweight servers and intelligent gateways to build low-latency inference networks, supporting real-time needs in industries like industrial quality inspection and smart healthcare. Cloud AI: Providing high-level model training and knowledge sharing services through a hybrid cloud platform, lowering the threshold for enterprise AI deployment. Lenovo's Hybrid AI is not a technical compromise but a profound insight into real-world needs. This architecture not only avoids the energy and security bottlenecks of cloud-based AI but also addresses the computational shortcomings of edge AI, striking a balance between efficiency and privacy. The outbreak of end-point AI: from functional modules to cognitive centers Lenovo has fully integrated AI capabilities into consumer and commercial devices, upgrading PCs from "computational tools" to "intelligent terminals." Taking the ThinkPad X1 Carbon AI released in 2025 as an example: Real-time multimodal interaction: Integrated with camera, microphone, and NLP engine, supporting voice commands, gesture control, and collaborative document scanning. Localized knowledge generation: Based on pre-trained small language models, advanced tasks like meeting minutes summary and code assistance can be completed offline. Enhanced privacy protection: All data processing is done on the device, eliminating the need to upload sensitive information to the cloud. This paradigm of "devices as AI engines" not only drives a sharp increase in Lenovo's AI PC shipments (now accounting for 15%), but also fosters the "DeepSeek phenomenon" where users actively upgrade their devices. Lenovo's Hybrid AI Advantage Collection: Technological depth and ecological synergy Full coverage of end-point scenarios: evolution from "computing devices" to "intelligent terminals" Lenovo has one of the most complete product lines globally (consumer, commercial, workstation, server), providing a natural platform for its AI strategy: Consumer market: Attracting users with innovative forms such as scroll screens and transparent screens, with AI functionality coverage exceeding 90%. Commercial market: Leveraging enterprise-level service capabilities and localized delivery networks to provide customized AI solutions for multinational companies. Vertical industries: Collaborating with partners to develop specialized AI applications for medical image analysis, industrial quality inspection, covering over 70% of niche scenarios. Lenovo's AIThe smart body Little Tian of PC has been integrated into the DeepSeek large model, and in the future, it will be upgraded to support the 7B model on the Tianxi AS, bringing a qualitative leap in user experience.Global Operations Capability: Building a "Geospatial Intelligence Network" Lenovo's intelligent manufacturing bases established in 12 countries globally are not only a guarantee of supply chain security, but also the infrastructure for edge AI computing power: Nearshore Manufacturing: Establishing "embedded" production bases in countries like Hungary and Mexico to achieve localized delivery and low-latency services; Warm Water Liquid Cooling Technology: An energy-saving solution perfect for hot environments in the Middle East, helping data centers reduce costs and increase efficiency; Ecological Cooperation: Collaborating with Mu Xi and Nvidia to build an AI computing power ecosystem, launching AI servers and integrated products based on RISC-V architecture. Lenovo's global layout is not simply about transferring production capacity, but reshaping the global industrial chain discourse through the dual drive of "technology + capital." Technological Deep Layout: Breaking through in Research and Development Lenovo's investment in research and development provides a foundational support for its AI strategy: Optimization of x86 architecture: For example, through the Lenovo AI Accelerator AI accelerator card, the AI performance of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon is improved by 4 times compared to the previous generation; RISC-V Innovation: Launching the world's first AI PC chip based on RISC-V architecture, reducing power consumption by 50% while maintaining the same level of computing power; Open Source Cooperation: Collaborating with DeepSeek to build a large model distillation platform, reducing the cost of enterprise private deployment. Yang Yuanqing pointed out: "Lenovo's hybrid AI advantage set is essentially the ultimate interpretation of 'end-cloud collaboration.' We must maintain the existing advantages of the x86 ecosystem and seize the future computing power high point through self-developed chips." The wave of hybrid AI has arrived: How Lenovo leads industrial transformation AI Twin, from device interconnection to service value-added - Lenovo's vision of AI Twin is being achieved through cross-device collaboration: Hardware Interconnection: PCs, tablets, and phones seamlessly connect through the Lenovo Connect framework, and AI assistants can synchronize user habits across devices; Service Value-added: Based on device-side data, personalized recommendations, remote collaboration, and other high-value-added services are generated to drive the increase in software service revenue proportion. According to Yang Yuanqing, Lenovo plans to increase the shipment proportion of AI PCs to 80% within two years and accelerate market penetration with the aid of the Windows 10 replacement cycle. Huang Jianheng also emphasized at the financial report meeting: "The growth of Lenovo's SSG business is essentially the explosion of hybrid AI in the enterprise market." Data shows that its AI solutions have served over 5,000 enterprises worldwide, with a customer retention rate of 92%. Growth poles in geospatial reconstruction: "Intelligent Map" from the Middle East to the world Lenovo's cooperation with the Saudi sovereign fund marks a new stage in its global strategy: Infrastructure First: Establishing manufacturing bases, regional headquarters, and innovation centers in Riyadh to radiate the Middle East and African markets; Technology Export: Promoting green technologies such as warm water cooling and AI data centers, in line with Saudi Arabia's "2030 Vision"; Ecological Replication: Replicating the "government capital + industry capability" model to emerging markets such as India and the United Arab Emirates, creating a model for Chinese technology companies to go global. Yang Yuanqing stated: "In the next three years, Lenovo's business in the Middle East is expected to grow 2-3 times, becoming an important engine of global growth." Lenovo, a technology company born in Beijing Centergate Technologies, is writing a new technological narrative: while Western giants are obsessed with the competition for "cloud dominance," Lenovo is proving another possibility with "distributed intelligence" - the true AI revolution, perhaps starting with devices within everyone's reach. In this sense, Lenovo's hybrid AI advantage set is not only a weapon for commercial competition but also the key to a new paradigm of the intelligent era.