Just ahead of the weekend, Asus co-CEO Samson Hu talked about his company’s plans to roll out the first AI PCs in 2024. The executive told attendees at the annual technology forum at National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan, that AI PCs should carry a price premium over standard PCs. However, Hu was vague about what would differentiate an AI PC – hardware, software, or possibly a mix of both. Today Asus also released its 2023 Q3 financials, and the investor slide deck suggests it already has big plans for AI PCs over the coming months.
We think that two major tech events are going to collide in 2024, and give birth to high-performance AI PCs. Microsoft has already started rolling out Copilot AI features for Windows users, and adding AI to several of its popular applications. Meanwhile, early 2024 should see the first availability of Intel Meteor Lake systems, with a dedicated NPU tile as part of the processor – accelerating local AI processing. Let us also not forget AMD is expected to release desktop APUs with AI acceleration in January 2024, too.
The Asus co-CEO told forum attendees that there are about 300 Windows developers working on AI apps that will benefit from local AI acceleration. This will be another important driver of sales of AI PCs, which are expected to initially be targeted at enterprises and content creators.
However, Hu wasn’t firm in providing a definition of an AI PC. The first wave of this new class of PCs could feature processors that feature on-board AI acceleration. However, some might offer AI PCs that are simply capable of running Microsoft365 Copilot, for example. Different PC vendors, many of which now have AI PC plans in place, will outline different definitions, reckons Hu. Nevertheless, the Asus co-CEO reckons an AI PC should feature more advanced processor families and bigger memory quotas.
Asus sees 2024 as a year that sets a foundation for AI PCs, with a mere single-digit percentage market penetration until 2025 or later. Despite these modest expectations, a large slice of today’s investor presentation stoked enthusiasm for AI PCs. One slide said Asus was “redefining the PC with AI,” and another that it was looking forward to “rapid technological advancements in the era of AI PC.” Moreover, in its business highlights it confirms it is “targeting to introduce the world’s first AI PC.” Outside of consumer and creator AI PCs, we can also see Asus reckons AIoT, AI Server, and AI HPC are all drivers for continued growth.
