Chinese IT hardware manufacturer, Lenovo, has upped its India manufacturing play. The company, which has been selected in the Rs 17,000-crore, IT production-linked incentive scheme, has now decided to start manufacturing 50,000 graphics processing units-based AI servers in India next year.
Lenovo India managing director Shailendra Katiyal said on Tuesday that the company will make servers locally and also export them from its manufacturing unit in Puducherry. Over 60% of the produce will be for export across the Asia-Pacific region.
The company is also setting up its fourth-largest research and development centre in India, according to Lenovo India, infrastructure group, managing director, Amit Luthra. He said that the Bangalore R&D centre will contribute to all five key stages of a product life cycle starting from system design, firmware and software development, product assurance, security and testing elements.
Analysts see these initiatives as a strategic push by the company to enhance its technological footprint in India, aligning with the government’s Made in India and AI for all vision.
Lenovo, with a global revenue of $57 billion, has been generating around $2-3 billion in India over the last couple of years. The company, initially known for its personal computers and desktops, has been diversifying, with 47% of its revenue now coming from non-PC businesses, with over 60 AI solutions, 80 AI platforms, and around 165 enterprise-grade AI solutions supported by over 400 employees skilled in AI.
The new R&D lab in Bengaluru enhances Lenovo’s global network of 18 existing labs and is one of the four key global labs focused on infrastructure solutions, alongside centres in Morrisville, Beijing, and Taipei.
The lab will also be used in system design, development, and testing of next-generation server platforms, including hardware, firmware, and software development. The Bengaluru lab is also equipped with advanced tools for electrical, design/testing, power characterisation, thermal analysis, and compliance testing.
Further, the company said all future mainstream server design, developments, and new technical initiatives will be conducted at this lab.
