From PoC to Production: How Lenovo Turns AI into Enterprise Impact

Intel on AI

Turning AI from promising experiments into billion-dollar business value requires more than powerful hardware—it takes strategy, scalability, and responsibility. In this episode, David Ellison, Chief Data Scientist & Director of AI Engineering at Lenovo, shares how the company’s AI Discover Center of Excellence has generated more than $1 billion in revenue by moving beyond proofs of concept to enterprise-scale deployments.

David breaks down why CPU-based inferencing is becoming a cost-efficient alternative to GPUs, how innovations like Intel’s AMX, AVX, and OpenVINO toolkit are reshaping performance, and what enterprises can learn from real-world applications—from NASCAR’s Smart Pit Box to logistics at USPS.

The conversation also explores responsible AI practices, offering guidance for C-suite leaders balancing performance, cost, and trust. Looking ahread, David shares where CPU-based AI inferencing is poised to make the biggest impact in the next few years.