Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger and Lenovo CEO Yuanqing Yang photographed together in 2000.
The Lenovo Tech World conference commenced at Bellevue’s Meydenbauer Center this morning with a tech tour that transitioned into discussions on recent AI breakthroughs and innovations — a subject matter that also was the key theme of last year’s event.
Hosted by Lenovo, a Chinese technology company that specializes in consumer electronics, personal computers, and more, the multiday event is attracting business professionals both locally and internationally to Bellevue and featuring speakers not only from Lenovo, but also Microsoft, Meta, Open Machine, and several others.
2024 marks the conference’s ninth year in the running. The event has been held in major hubs such as Beijing, Austin, Shanghai, and San Francisco in previous years.
Beginning at around 10 a.m. today, Erin Taylor (@unsteadyandready on Instagram), a young woman with Lou Gehrig’s Disease, introduced Lenovo CEO and chairman Yuanqing Yang using the company’s AI Lullaby, a service that uses eye-tracking technology to deliver messages in a user’s personal AI-generated voice.
“Good morning, and welcome to Lenovo Tech World,” Yang greeted guests. “This year, we’ve come to the Seattle area, a leading global innovation hub with a vibrant ecosystem and a culture of innovation and collaboration.”
The venue’s showroom included a series of displays that showcased Lenovo’s latest products and innovations.
The first exhibit set up featured the tech company’s newest Neptune system, which launched earlier this summer. The system seeks to combat the high power intake required by AI technologies by replacing traditional air-cooling systems with more efficient water-cooling technology.
DreamWorks, an animation studio owned by Universal Pictures that uses Neptune servers, estimates that the system saves up to 40% in energy usage, according to Patrick Moakley, demonstrator and director of marketing for high-performance computing and AI.
Another display highlighted Lenovo’s mission of using “AI for Good” and featured the company’s cardiac-health-monitoring device that can render a complete ECG for patients and doctors.
Among the most notable concepts exhibited at today’s event was Lenovo’s introduction of 3D desktop displays and laptops that are operable with the naked eye and without the use of smart glasses. Instead, the 3D technology uses a ring-like device called “track-point,” which allows users to navigate the device.
The showroom also had innovations from Lenovo’s cellphone and smart-device company, Motorola, on view.
With Moto AI’s “remember this” feature, users can save notes, images, and screenshots of documents, and more for easy recall later.
Yang speaking.
“Many of us traveled to Bellevue to Tech World, which probably meant keeping track of many details. With Moto AI’s ‘remember this,’ staying organized is a breeze,” Nicole Hagen, head of global product marketing at Motorola, said in a keynote speech. “You can save notes like your packing list, screenshots of your boarding pass, or even photos of your airport parking spot. Everything is stored in your journal with AI insights for easy recall later. You’re in full control of what gets saved, and everything is stored locally on your device. So, when you’re ready, you can ask, ‘what do I pack?,’ or ‘when should I leave for the airport?’”
Additionally, Lenovo’s hybrid AI Now and its Smart Connect technology were exhibited both in the showroom and on stage. Smart Connect seeks to bridge the gap between AI-powered devices and non-AI devices by enabling users to share and summarize documents, generate images, notes, and more across multiple devices — all while bypassing any cloud network entirely.
Also in attendance was Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger. He spoke about the new AI-powered Aura Edition PCs powered by Intel’s processors and graphics cards, and also made a significant announcement.
“For someone who’s been participating in technology for over 40 years now, to say this is the most exciting era, this is profound. I think of it somewhat like the (advent of) the internet …,” Gelsinger said on stage. “We’ve already shipped nearly 20 million AI PC devices, building an ecosystem that is second to none … and we’re just getting started. We couldn’t imagine doing that without our longtime partners at Lenovo.
Gelsinger then referenced a photo behind him that captured him and Yang meeting in 2000.
“We’ve innovated and challenged each other, and at the heart of that has been the X86 architecture (used for central processing units) … We see that the X86 architecture, this foundation of computing for decades, is about to go through a period of customization, expansion, and scalability … And just this morning, Intel and AMD announced the X86 Ecosystem Advisory Group.”
The X86 Advisory Group will host a group of tech leaders from across the sector that will help inform and shape the future of computing architecture.
Later, AMD’s chair and CEO, Lisa Su, joined the stage to speak further on the partnership.
The keynote event concluded around noon. Attendees were subsequently invited to a catered lunch and further explored the showroom before a second keynote speech commenced around 2 p.m.
Keynote speeches from the multiday conference are being broadcast live here.
