HP plans to make all PCs sold in India locally within 5 years: CEO Enrique Lores

HP Inc plans to manufacture all personal computers it sells in India locally within the next three to five years and eventually export them, the company’s global president and chief executive Enrique Lores said.

In an interview with The Economic Times, Lores said, “The first target will be to make sure that over time we can build in India all the volume that will be sold in the country.”

“Once we are there, the next step will be to start selling internationally,” he said, adding that the timeline could be accelerated depending on market conditions.

Lores said HP is expanding production in India and views the country as a key manufacturing base amid global supply chain realignments.

The 60-year-old executive of the $25.8 billion computing giant said the world was moving toward two distinct technology stacks – a Chinese technology stack and a Western technology stack.

“We will have to offer solutions for both,” he added.

Lores said he expects “a new family of devices” to emerge within five years as artificial intelligence becomes embedded in daily life.

“About five years from now, there is going to be more personal computing than there is today,” he said, adding that new form factors beyond PCs, tablets and phones are likely to appear.

HP is also working on ambient AI applications, following its recent acquisition of AI startup Humane.

AI will “hear what you hear, it will see what you see, and it will always be available,” Lores said, noting that HP’s focus would be on business-to-business applications such as those for doctors or factory workers who cannot use conventional devices.

The company expects over half of its PC shipments to be AI-enabled within two years. “In just three quarters, 25% of the PCs shipped by us are AI-enabled,” Lores said, calling the adoption rate faster than expected.

Unlike rivals investing heavily in large AI models and data centres, HP is focusing on smaller, specialised models for specific customer needs.

“With smaller investments and very focused training models, we can get very good results,” Lores told the paper.