As India accelerates its growth to become a major hub for artificial intelligence, Chinese tech giant Lenovo has reportedly begun manufacturing AI servers in the country, expanding its product line beyond traditional offerings like laptops and smartphones.
According to a Bloomberg report, Lenovo has initiated the production of large, powerful computers in Puducherry, while also planning to establish new units in Bengaluru, which will include an AI-focused research lab.
Earlier this year, there were reports that Lenovo was exploring server manufacturing in India to leverage the country’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for IT hardware. At that time, Vlad Rozanovich, Lenovo’s senior vice president of the Infrastructure Solutions Group, noted that this move aligns with the company’s expanding data center solutions business. Rozanovich emphasized the company’s expectation for its Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) vertical to achieve double-digit growth.
Lenovo, which acquired Motorola in 2014, also manufactures desktops, personal computers, and Motorola smartphones locally in India. Motorola was one of the early beneficiaries of the government’s PLI initiative for mobile phone manufacturing.
The PLI scheme, introduced in 2020, offers incentives to encourage domestic production and has played a significant role in attracting manufacturers.
India’s growing emphasis on local manufacturing, combined with ongoing geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington, has also prompted Apple to shift some of its production to India. Apple aims to produce 25% of its iPhones in India by 2028.
In addition to Lenovo, other Chinese companies like Xiaomi, which already manufactures wireless audio products in India, are exploring smartphone production in the country. Foxconn, the Apple manufacturer, has also been considering AI server production in India. The company currently builds AI servers for global tech giants such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Nvidia.
Meanwhile, Google has announced plans to begin producing Pixel smartphones in India through a partnership with Foxconn’s Indian subsidiary.
Additionally, Mega Networks, one of the two Indian companies selected to participate in the PLI Scheme 2.0, is looking to start AI server production by the third quarter of the fiscal year 2024-2025.
