Lenovo Group Chairman and CEO Yang Yuanqing has shared his vision for the future of artificial intelligence (AI), emphasizing a significant shift towards on-device and edge computing. He predicts that a substantial majority of AI processing will occur directly on personal devices and at the network’s edge, leading to a new era for personal computing and the emergence of personal AI centers for every user.
Efficiency and Cost of AI Computing
As large language models grow to trillions of parameters and token usage increases, enhancing the efficiency of AI computations and reducing the cost per token becomes crucial for widespread AI adoption. Yang Yuanqing forecasts that in the future, 80% of tokens will be generated directly on end-user devices such as smartphones and computers, as well as at the network edge, including routers and specialized servers. This indicates a move away from solely centralized cloud-based AI applications towards a collaborative model involving the cloud, end devices, and the edge.
A New Era for Personal Computing
This trend presents significant opportunities for the growth of personal computers and edge infrastructure, as more AI inference tasks will be handled locally. For individual users, this could mean the necessity of owning a personal AI hub or home server. Such a development might fundamentally alter the paradigm of personal computing, moving from single devices like PCs or smartphones to an integrated ecosystem centered around a user’s personal data, models, and intelligent agents.
The Role of AI Agents
Yang Yuanqing also highlighted another important trend: future devices will increasingly be operated not by humans directly, but by their AI agents. As the capabilities of intelligent agents evolve from simple question-answering to autonomous task execution, computing devices will need to support not only human interaction but also continuous operation, collaboration, and automated task completion by these agents.
Lenovo’s AI Initiatives
Lenovo is actively investing in its AI solutions, aiming to maintain its leadership in the PC market while expanding its presence in the AI sector. According to Lenovo’s official report for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 (April 1 – June 30, 2026), the company achieved a record 25.1% share of the global AI-enabled personal computer market.
Adding to the industry news, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing informed sources, that AI startup DeepSeek has completed a new funding round worth hundreds of billions of yuan. Notably, the investors included entities described as part of the ‘Lenovo chain,’ signaling Lenovo’s strategic interest in fostering the AI ecosystem.
