As data centre buildouts become increasingly contested and demand surges for both generative and agentic AI use cases, one part of the solution is running workloads at the edge.
In an interview with ITWeb TV, HP Southern and Central Africa MD Yesh Surjoodeen maps out the increasing role that AI PCs – the latest computing devices equipped with neural processing units – are expected to play.
Processing AI workloads at the edge relies less on the centralised cloud computing model, he says, with inference taking place on the local device.
Ketan Patel, president of HP personal systems, said earlier this year that rising cloud costs associated with agentic AI are pushing companies to move AI processing to the device rather than growing everything through a data centre.
Surjoodeen agrees and adds that there are a couple of other key benefits to the AI PC as a workload destination. The costs and availability of connectivity to send information to a cloud-based AI data centre, as well as the latency, are all important considerations, especially for African organisations.
“But perhaps the biggest portion of why we're seeing customers drive that [adoption] is because there's the security concern…and sovereignty as a subset of that. Having the ability to process your information locally, but also in a secure environment, allows you to have a bit more control over your IT infrastructure.”
The global edge AI market is projected to grow to $46.96 billion in 2026, up from $35.60 billion last year, and is set to reach $445.75 billion by 2034, according to forecasts from Fortune Business Insights.
The growth of AI PCs is the direction of travel for HP. According to its Q2 FY 2026 results released in May, AI PCs accounted for 44% of the company’s shipment mix in that quarter, up from 35% in the previous quarter.
Surjoodeen acknowledges AI PCs aren’t right for every use case, but their continued supply is likely to push through the market, as demand for non-AI PCs diminishes over time.
“At the end of the day, it's always going to be that an AI PC is not for everyone, all the time; it's really a journey. Over time, what we'll see is AI PCs take front and centre, and that will be the majority of it [the portfolio].”
Regarding AI PCs being a premium offering and the issue of affordability in Africa, especially where entry-level devices are often required, Surjoodeen says it’s something that has to be addressed.
“When we say entry-level devices, it’s about the affordability and the attainability of these devices, I think that is something necessary and endemic to where we are, and affordability within our markets, I think there's a place for that and an opportunity to serve that. The challenge on technology companies, such as ourselves, is how much of that [new] tech we can bring in, but still keep affordability intact.
“For us, the responsibility as technology companies is to ensure we have AI-based PCs available at price points that can be attained.”
Part of that approach may be down to sourcing of alternative components inside the devices. Surjoodeen says HP has undertaken a lot of work in diversifying its supply chain, which enables the company to have better contingency plans.
“We're not limited to one kind of supply chain environment, we have multiple, so that we can literally navigate or switch on different supply chains that we have to provide consistent supply. That's a necessary advantage that organisations need to have – resiliency in your supply chain and your source of components.”
Geopolitical issues − such as the shipping delays resulting from the conflict blocking the Strait of Hormuz, global chip shortages and even the COVID-19 pandemic − have all led to HP’s local channel also becoming more resilient, Surjoodeen believes.
“I'm impressed in the way the channel has handled a lot of the challenges put in front of them,” he says. “When we had the pandemic, and the channel challenges and opportunities faced, also meant we've forged better discussions. They're very quick today, they're far more future-looking.”
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