WEBVTT - Blo, Lenovo Soars on AI Growth 0:00:02.520 --> 0:00:13.440 Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio news. Bloomberg Tech is alive 0:00:13.440 --> 0:00:17.239 from coast to coast with Caroline Hyde in New York 0:00:17.560 --> 0:00:19.520 and ed Lo Loow in San Francisco. 0:00:22.880 --> 0:00:24.840 This is Bloomberg Tech coming up. 0:00:24.880 --> 0:00:29.040 Starships were meant to fly, but scrub SpaceX delays a 0:00:29.040 --> 0:00:32.920 critical test seconds before launch. Plus we'll discuss the space 0:00:32.960 --> 0:00:37.159 company's planned mega IPO with a SpaceX alumni and an 0:00:37.200 --> 0:00:41.440 early investor, and Lenovo saws post earnings on strong AI growth. 0:00:41.479 --> 0:00:44.400 We sit down for an exclusive interview with the world 0:00:44.479 --> 0:00:50.760 leading PC makers c FO Winston Chen. But first, SpaceX's 0:00:50.840 --> 0:00:52.320 twelfth Starship test flight. 0:00:52.479 --> 0:00:54.440 For now, scrub. 0:00:54.360 --> 0:00:56.920 Right, it is sounding like we are not going to 0:00:56.960 --> 0:00:59.360 be able to clear this issue in time. 0:00:59.120 --> 0:01:02.800 Today, So we are going to be standing down from 0:01:02.920 --> 0:01:03.600 a launch. 0:01:08.280 --> 0:01:11.520 SpaceX delaying a critical test of its massive Starship rocket 0:01:11.880 --> 0:01:15.600 after a pin tied to the launch tower mechanism failed 0:01:15.600 --> 0:01:18.840 to retract during the final countdown. The setback comes just 0:01:18.840 --> 0:01:21.120 the day after the company formerly filed for an IPO. 0:01:21.520 --> 0:01:25.280 Bloembokes Lauren grush back with us another attempt penciled for 0:01:25.319 --> 0:01:28.800 this Friday evening, But can you believe it? The tension 0:01:29.240 --> 0:01:33.920 the drama, the anticipation Lauren in one city, Ed Ludlow 0:01:33.920 --> 0:01:37.840 in another, and it's a piece of metal that stops 0:01:37.880 --> 0:01:39.759 us going of a whole tea minus forty seconds. 0:01:39.760 --> 0:01:40.600 Do we know what happened? 0:01:41.680 --> 0:01:41.880 Right? 0:01:41.959 --> 0:01:44.320 So from what Elon said, it sounded like it was 0:01:44.360 --> 0:01:47.039 a hydraulic pin that controlled the. 0:01:47.680 --> 0:01:50.960 Arm on the launch tower. You know they mentioned a 0:01:51.040 --> 0:01:51.840 quick disconnect. 0:01:51.880 --> 0:01:54.320 You know, all these things need to move rapidly out 0:01:54.320 --> 0:01:57.040 of the way once the launch takes place so that 0:01:57.080 --> 0:01:58.840 the rocket can actually clear the tower. 0:01:59.120 --> 0:02:01.400 So it might seem all pretty important. 0:02:01.720 --> 0:02:04.920 That's just what makes rocket launches so exciting, right, One 0:02:05.400 --> 0:02:08.280 tiny little piece of technology could. 0:02:08.040 --> 0:02:11.480 Go wrong and you know, the whole thing gets stopped. 0:02:11.520 --> 0:02:14.120 So it sounded like there were also a number of 0:02:14.200 --> 0:02:17.320 other issues they were working too. Something with the flame 0:02:17.360 --> 0:02:21.760 trench also had stopped the countdown at one point two. 0:02:22.280 --> 0:02:24.480 This is all a new pad, right, So this is 0:02:24.960 --> 0:02:28.400 a new rocket, a new launch pad, and I think 0:02:28.680 --> 0:02:31.400 with this launch they definitely wanted to go well this time, 0:02:31.520 --> 0:02:34.079 just given all of the stakes surrounding their IPO and 0:02:34.120 --> 0:02:35.760 their filing that they had this week. 0:02:35.960 --> 0:02:37.800 So I wouldn't be surprised if there being. 0:02:37.720 --> 0:02:40.120 A little extra cautious this time than they have been 0:02:40.160 --> 0:02:41.600 with previous test missions. 0:02:42.360 --> 0:02:46.280 So new pad PAD two at star based Texas, Boku Chika, Texas. 0:02:46.960 --> 0:02:49.280 This is a test flight, twelfth test flight, but a 0:02:49.320 --> 0:02:53.240 brand new architecture for Starship. Right, basically, the hardware top 0:02:53.320 --> 0:02:56.560 to tail the Starship spacecraft at the top. That's the 0:02:56.639 --> 0:02:59.320 black pointy bit if you're looking at the screen right now, 0:02:59.400 --> 0:03:01.040 and the super head boost on the bottom. 0:03:01.280 --> 0:03:04.160 Why is that important, Lauren, Well. 0:03:04.000 --> 0:03:07.400 The anticipation has been super high for this launch because 0:03:07.400 --> 0:03:10.600 it's the debut of the third iteration of Starship, what's 0:03:10.639 --> 0:03:14.400 known as Version three or V three, and this vehicle 0:03:14.600 --> 0:03:17.320 is supposed to be the one that kind of achieves 0:03:17.400 --> 0:03:20.280 all of the dreams that Starship has laid out right, 0:03:20.520 --> 0:03:24.680 supposed to get to that really massive payload capacity of 0:03:24.720 --> 0:03:28.480 one hundred metric tons. It's also supposed to be optimized 0:03:28.520 --> 0:03:31.840 for total reuse, which is kind of the ultimate holy 0:03:31.880 --> 0:03:34.880 grail that they want to achieve with Starship being able 0:03:34.920 --> 0:03:38.400 to bring back both Starship and the super heavy booster 0:03:38.560 --> 0:03:41.320 intact so that they can rapidly refly them again. 0:03:41.880 --> 0:03:44.600 So this is kind of the version that's supposed. 0:03:44.240 --> 0:03:46.360 To do all of that, and so I think you 0:03:46.400 --> 0:03:48.800 know everyone is, you know, waiting on pins and needles 0:03:48.840 --> 0:03:52.440 to see if it will actually work as intended. 0:03:52.880 --> 0:03:56.000 Right, the prior iterations of Starship thirty five metric tons 0:03:56.040 --> 0:03:58.000 payload to lower for a bit. They want to get 0:03:57.960 --> 0:04:01.680 one hundred metric tons more. Bloobos, Lauren Grush, please don't 0:04:01.680 --> 0:04:04.040 go far, Thank you very much. Let's get more on 0:04:04.120 --> 0:04:08.640 SpaceX and why a new, re engineered, new architecture Starship 0:04:09.040 --> 0:04:13.040 matters with Laura Crabtree, CEO of Epsilon three. Laura spent 0:04:13.080 --> 0:04:16.800 more than a decade at SpaceX supported Milestone missions, the 0:04:16.839 --> 0:04:19.560 first Dragon launch, the company's first crewed. 0:04:19.320 --> 0:04:21.359 Mission to the International Space Station. 0:04:22.560 --> 0:04:26.880 I think you left prior to Starship really kicking off, 0:04:27.000 --> 0:04:29.600 but you understand why this matters. 0:04:29.920 --> 0:04:33.239 So let's start with the V three. Why does it matter? 0:04:34.600 --> 0:04:37.520 It matters because people have been waiting, as Lauren just 0:04:37.560 --> 0:04:41.919 alluded to, everyone's been waiting for this next iteration, for 0:04:42.000 --> 0:04:45.240 it to be operational, to be able to book a 0:04:45.320 --> 0:04:48.920 launch on Starship, and I think it will enable the 0:04:49.000 --> 0:04:52.039 next iteration of what we want to see as the 0:04:52.080 --> 0:04:56.400 space industry continues to grow and access to space continues 0:04:56.440 --> 0:05:01.480 to be easier, more affordable, et cetera. And we can 0:05:01.520 --> 0:05:04.800 take long larger payloads, we can take more people to 0:05:04.839 --> 0:05:10.360 the Moon, we can take lunar rovers more quickly, and I. 0:05:10.320 --> 0:05:13.679 Think everyone's been waiting for that for a long time. 0:05:13.520 --> 0:05:16.400 Now, Laurie, you'll understand. 0:05:16.480 --> 0:05:20.279 So SpaceX's S one went public and a main focus 0:05:20.279 --> 0:05:23.039 of it was that that larger future payload you're talking 0:05:23.080 --> 0:05:27.360 about being orbital data center. But the core mission, the 0:05:27.440 --> 0:05:30.040 kind of founding mission of SpaceX, is to make humankind 0:05:30.360 --> 0:05:31.840 a multiplanetary species. 0:05:31.920 --> 0:05:32.040 Right. 0:05:32.080 --> 0:05:34.720 We haven't on the show talked as much about that 0:05:34.839 --> 0:05:38.200 human payload. Sorry if that's probably not the kindest way 0:05:38.200 --> 0:05:40.719 of putting it, But the human payload element of it, 0:05:41.839 --> 0:05:44.800 how would that work in Starship? You know, the idea 0:05:44.960 --> 0:05:46.760 is that, you know, if you're going to go the 0:05:46.800 --> 0:05:49.120 distance of Mars, but even in the near time the Moon, 0:05:49.600 --> 0:05:53.200 it is Starship that is the best technology platform to 0:05:53.200 --> 0:05:55.760 get us there. Is that the idea, That. 0:05:55.839 --> 0:05:56.480 Is the idea. 0:05:56.640 --> 0:06:01.040 And you know Elon has talked men many times at 0:06:01.120 --> 0:06:04.240 Company all Hands, and I'm sure you know also out 0:06:04.279 --> 0:06:08.920 in the public about the future goal of making humans 0:06:09.200 --> 0:06:14.640 multiplanetary species. So the ultimate goal of something like Starship 0:06:15.120 --> 0:06:19.480 is to make life interplanetary to enable that future. 0:06:19.160 --> 0:06:19.960 We want to see. 0:06:20.880 --> 0:06:23.000 As he said, you know, we don't want to be 0:06:23.160 --> 0:06:25.400 like the dinosaurs and we don't want to go extinct 0:06:25.400 --> 0:06:28.400 on this planet. And so there are a lot of 0:06:28.720 --> 0:06:32.440 pieces that SpaceX needs to achieve to get there, because 0:06:32.440 --> 0:06:36.120 the mission for SpaceX to be multiplanetary. But you have 0:06:36.200 --> 0:06:39.040 to have the building blocks of data centers, you have 0:06:39.080 --> 0:06:41.320 to have starlink, you have to have all of the 0:06:41.360 --> 0:06:43.600 things that we've built up to this point. 0:06:43.680 --> 0:06:45.920 And this is just the next piece of the puzzle. 0:06:47.520 --> 0:06:51.560 You are the senior mission operations engineer. You basically trained 0:06:51.560 --> 0:06:57.160 the crew and you oversaw and ran the Dragon spacecraft missions. 0:06:57.240 --> 0:07:01.159 So for the bloombt Tech audience, space getting humans to 0:07:01.240 --> 0:07:03.680 the International Space Station or into space so far has 0:07:03.720 --> 0:07:07.800 been Falcon nine with a Dragon capsule on top. I'm 0:07:07.800 --> 0:07:12.400 now showing Starship V three pictures right. 0:07:12.240 --> 0:07:12.880 Now, Laura. 0:07:13.360 --> 0:07:15.640 The bit that I think people I find it had 0:07:15.680 --> 0:07:19.240 to understand is within the design of the Starship spacecraft 0:07:19.280 --> 0:07:21.920 different to putting a capsule on Falcon nine. 0:07:21.920 --> 0:07:22.880 How would that work? 0:07:23.080 --> 0:07:23.160 Like? 0:07:23.480 --> 0:07:25.200 Literally where did the astronauts go? 0:07:26.800 --> 0:07:30.280 So there have been lots of design iterations and I'm 0:07:30.480 --> 0:07:33.520 not entirely sure where the design iteration is right now, 0:07:33.880 --> 0:07:37.560 But from the last I saw, the Starship would then 0:07:37.840 --> 0:07:40.040 take all the humans to the Moon, and there would 0:07:40.080 --> 0:07:45.160 be the complete payload would be human, so you know, 0:07:45.200 --> 0:07:48.200 it would be geared towards humans, so there would be toilets, 0:07:48.240 --> 0:07:52.920 there would be the pods for people to live in 0:07:53.120 --> 0:07:55.880 while they're being transported to the Moon. So that that 0:07:56.000 --> 0:07:59.840 is more the idea, I believe, And so that that's 0:07:59.840 --> 0:08:02.960 the thing that we still have yet to see. Until 0:08:03.000 --> 0:08:08.400 Starship is operational and many flights have taken place, I 0:08:08.440 --> 0:08:10.960 don't think we will know exactly the designs, and I 0:08:11.000 --> 0:08:16.160 believe SpaceX is probably waiting to unveil that in future versions. 0:08:18.000 --> 0:08:20.440 Could you try and take us inside SpaceX a little bit? 0:08:20.960 --> 0:08:25.080 You know, part of covering the almost launch of the 0:08:25.120 --> 0:08:30.000 twelfth test flight yesterday is seeing the sort of gathering 0:08:30.040 --> 0:08:33.360 of SpaceX staff and engineers, everyone that worked on the 0:08:33.400 --> 0:08:37.120 re engineering the new architecture. When you Long Mascow or 0:08:37.160 --> 0:08:40.240 the other leaders go to the team and say, let's 0:08:40.280 --> 0:08:43.320 rip up the script the blueprint and start again. What's 0:08:43.400 --> 0:08:47.439 that process like to get to get it onto the pad? 0:08:47.920 --> 0:08:53.080 Yeah, you know, it's a challenge in the industry. There's 0:08:53.440 --> 0:08:56.160 something called a challenge coin, So you get a challenge 0:08:56.160 --> 0:08:58.360 coin if you're going to work really hard on something, 0:08:58.559 --> 0:09:02.160 but it feels like is a challenge coin on the 0:09:02.200 --> 0:09:06.520 line all the time. So you're given somewhat insurmountable problem 0:09:06.880 --> 0:09:09.640 and you have to go and solve it. And I 0:09:09.640 --> 0:09:13.160 think the difference that most people are now noting is 0:09:13.160 --> 0:09:16.960 that within SpaceX and many startups that you see in 0:09:17.000 --> 0:09:21.200 the industry today, you are given more responsibility to make 0:09:21.280 --> 0:09:25.600 decisions than you would have in a traditional large aerospace company. 0:09:25.840 --> 0:09:28.320 And so you're given a problem, you go and solve 0:09:28.360 --> 0:09:30.559 the problem to the best of your ability, and then 0:09:30.720 --> 0:09:33.120 you come together test the problem, iterate. 0:09:33.360 --> 0:09:35.800 That's why you're seeing so quick. 0:09:35.760 --> 0:09:41.079 Of iteration from Starship, because the engineers are being pushed 0:09:41.440 --> 0:09:45.400 to continue to think outside of the box. You can't 0:09:45.880 --> 0:09:49.280 design something like Starship with the things that have been 0:09:49.280 --> 0:09:49.760 done in the. 0:09:49.679 --> 0:09:51.960 Past present day. 0:09:52.000 --> 0:09:54.440 Laura, you're the CEO of EPs on three, a software 0:09:54.440 --> 0:09:56.840 platform that if you are trying to pull off a 0:09:57.080 --> 0:10:02.920 high stakes operational testing manufacturing procedure, which I think Starship 0:10:03.000 --> 0:10:04.239 kind of is, right now. 0:10:04.800 --> 0:10:05.640 That's what you need. 0:10:05.880 --> 0:10:07.200 So I think you're in a good place to just 0:10:07.200 --> 0:10:10.199 tell us to end, we have thirty seconds. Just how 0:10:10.200 --> 0:10:14.360 difficult is what SpaceX is trying to do right now 0:10:14.400 --> 0:10:15.960 with this starship program. 0:10:16.400 --> 0:10:19.680 Yeah, I think Lauren alluded to this earlier, But there 0:10:19.720 --> 0:10:22.640 are millions of decisions that need to be made and 0:10:22.760 --> 0:10:25.520 millions of technical things that need to go right. So 0:10:25.600 --> 0:10:28.760 having one small thing like a pin and maybe a 0:10:28.800 --> 0:10:33.360 couple of out of family temperatures is actually miraculous. You 0:10:33.400 --> 0:10:37.520 can expect scrubs, you can expect some failure, but when 0:10:37.520 --> 0:10:41.360 you get to the end, you should have tested enough 0:10:41.520 --> 0:10:42.360 small things. 0:10:42.600 --> 0:10:44.520 And that's really what we know at. 0:10:44.400 --> 0:10:48.320 EPSOLON three want is to have the infrastructure built to 0:10:48.400 --> 0:10:51.120 test enough small things that when you get to the mission, 0:10:51.200 --> 0:10:53.960 you get to the final launch, that you have done 0:10:54.080 --> 0:10:57.600 enough that you have the most confidence that your mission 0:10:57.679 --> 0:10:58.120 will go well. 0:10:58.160 --> 0:10:59.760 And I think that's what SpaceX is doing. 0:11:00.920 --> 0:11:05.080 Laura Crabtree, CEO of EPSOM three, formerly Senior Mission Operations Engineer, 0:11:05.360 --> 0:11:08.080 alumni of SpaceX, thank you so much for being on 0:11:08.120 --> 0:11:08.800 Bloomberg Tech. 0:11:09.040 --> 0:11:09.600 Now coming up. 0:11:09.640 --> 0:11:13.720 Winston Cheng of Lenovo joins US following the company's just 0:11:13.760 --> 0:11:17.600 blowout results strong growth in AI for the world's leading 0:11:17.679 --> 0:11:21.040 PC maker. This is what markets look like on the week, 0:11:21.120 --> 0:11:24.840 and I'd forgive you if you forgot that in the 0:11:24.840 --> 0:11:27.240 middle of this week we had earnings from the world's 0:11:27.440 --> 0:11:29.640 most valuable company, and Video is down actually almost four 0:11:29.679 --> 0:11:32.520 percent on the week. Right then, as that one hundred 0:11:32.600 --> 0:11:36.760 is buoyant, a little bifurcation because in video was accountable 0:11:36.760 --> 0:11:39.200 for so much of the gain and rallying inequity markets 0:11:39.200 --> 0:11:42.400 in recent weeks. But over five days, that's the picture 0:11:42.720 --> 0:11:45.640 in Video. Kind of trailing behind this is Bloomberg Tech. 0:11:53.040 --> 0:11:56.720 Shares of Lenovo absolutely soaring in Hong Kong trading overnight 0:11:56.760 --> 0:11:59.600 again of twenty percent, was the biggest single day jumps 0:11:59.600 --> 0:12:02.400 since two two thousand and eight. This after the company 0:12:02.440 --> 0:12:06.640 reported strong growth in AI related earnings, offsetting challenges from 0:12:06.720 --> 0:12:10.400 you know what the challenges are rising component prices. Winston Cheng, 0:12:10.559 --> 0:12:14.040 CFO of Lenovo, joins us from New York City and Winton. 0:12:14.080 --> 0:12:16.000 It's great to have you on the program. Thankank you 0:12:16.120 --> 0:12:20.280 very much for the time. You know, everyone knows Lenovo 0:12:20.559 --> 0:12:23.360 leading PC maker in the world. But I think to start, 0:12:23.400 --> 0:12:25.760 I wonder if we could just go a bit deeper 0:12:25.760 --> 0:12:28.920 into what AI related revenues actually look like for Lenovo, 0:12:29.120 --> 0:12:31.960 define them and then we can extrapolate out on what 0:12:32.040 --> 0:12:33.040 the story is here. 0:12:33.280 --> 0:12:33.439 Now. 0:12:33.480 --> 0:12:35.920 We're certainly very well known for our PC given our 0:12:35.920 --> 0:12:39.400 dominance in the space for many, many years, but we 0:12:39.440 --> 0:12:41.400 are actually more than a PC maker. We have the 0:12:41.440 --> 0:12:45.640 most complete portfolio in terms of devices from PCs to 0:12:45.760 --> 0:12:49.160 tablets to smartphone. It's the most complete portfolio ad scale 0:12:49.240 --> 0:12:52.560 on a global basis, on our non iOS basis, and 0:12:52.640 --> 0:12:56.520 that serves as the foundation for AI devices going forward. 0:12:56.800 --> 0:12:59.160 In terms of our product portfolio set, we have our 0:12:59.200 --> 0:13:02.240 hybrid strategy enables us to have from the pocket to 0:13:02.280 --> 0:13:05.600 the cloud, and you're seeing that gain in terms of 0:13:05.600 --> 0:13:08.760 our infrastructure business in the latest quarter, in terms of 0:13:08.800 --> 0:13:12.560 that compute capability that is now being used for infrastructure 0:13:12.800 --> 0:13:15.080 from AI training to AI influencing. 0:13:16.200 --> 0:13:20.840 The US listed shares or ADR is also massive performance today. 0:13:21.160 --> 0:13:23.280 You know, I appreciate Winston. You're the CFO. 0:13:23.520 --> 0:13:27.400 Maybe you don't keep a constant eye on the share price, 0:13:27.720 --> 0:13:30.000 but the biggest jump since two thousand and eight, it 0:13:30.040 --> 0:13:33.360 has to tell you something. Do you attribute that to 0:13:33.440 --> 0:13:36.600 the appreciation maybe that you're getting for the infrastructure business? 0:13:36.600 --> 0:13:39.160 What do you think the market is maybe seeing now 0:13:39.559 --> 0:13:40.600 that it hasn't before. 0:13:41.240 --> 0:13:44.160 Yeah, So Certainly, we're not defined by one quarter. We're 0:13:44.200 --> 0:13:47.040 in for the long haul and the AI spend and 0:13:47.200 --> 0:13:50.640 opportunity is also for decades to come. But we're defining 0:13:50.679 --> 0:13:53.160 this as the AI decade for Lenovo, and I think 0:13:53.160 --> 0:13:54.599 we're in the first year of that journey and you 0:13:54.640 --> 0:13:57.960 can see the result of that focus in terms of 0:13:58.000 --> 0:14:00.720 our capabilities. We've actually been invested in this for over 0:14:00.760 --> 0:14:04.280 ten years. Our ability to be able to produce in 0:14:04.520 --> 0:14:07.400 AD scale on a global basis, for both on the 0:14:07.400 --> 0:14:09.800 device side and also on the infrastructure side is unique 0:14:09.800 --> 0:14:13.520 to Lenovo. We can serve hyperscalers and also enterprises on 0:14:13.559 --> 0:14:16.040 that basis as well. And our portfolio set with the 0:14:16.240 --> 0:14:19.880 IBM heritage that when we made the acquisition twenty fifteen 0:14:20.240 --> 0:14:22.600 gives us a solid foundation to be able to serve 0:14:22.920 --> 0:14:27.320 the AI compute capabilities today, given the high performance compute 0:14:27.360 --> 0:14:31.000 genetics that we have with our industry liquid cooling technology 0:14:31.000 --> 0:14:31.400 as well. 0:14:33.360 --> 0:14:36.920 On Monday, Winston I was with Jensen one in Las Vegas. 0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:39.960 Of course vera rubin coming later this year that matters 0:14:39.960 --> 0:14:43.560 to you, and we were speaking with one of your peers, 0:14:43.640 --> 0:14:47.400 Michael Dell, and I was trying to understand from them 0:14:47.680 --> 0:14:50.560 the story for the PC in a world where we 0:14:50.600 --> 0:14:54.600 are shifting to inference but also gentiic AI. Can you 0:14:54.680 --> 0:14:59.520 give me any evidence or data that the more commonplace 0:14:59.720 --> 0:15:05.080 you of AI agents actually drives enterprise knowledge worker acquisition 0:15:05.120 --> 0:15:07.160 of PCs, new PCs at scale. 0:15:07.760 --> 0:15:11.000 Yeah, we certainly see our AIPC demand being very strong 0:15:11.040 --> 0:15:12.320 and it's been increasing in. 0:15:12.280 --> 0:15:13.280 Terms of our portfolio. 0:15:13.280 --> 0:15:16.280 Our AI revenues today is about thirty eight percent of 0:15:16.280 --> 0:15:18.560 our total revenues in the last quarter, and the PC 0:15:18.720 --> 0:15:22.720 is also AIPC is also a very big component of that. Today, 0:15:22.880 --> 0:15:27.920 as AI training develops and more AI capabilities are being enhanced, 0:15:28.160 --> 0:15:31.920 more people will use and need to consume and interact 0:15:32.160 --> 0:15:34.680 with the agents through their devices, and I think the 0:15:34.840 --> 0:15:39.040 upgrade for better and more higher performance devices will be 0:15:39.120 --> 0:15:41.520 a nessary part of that journey. You see that with 0:15:41.720 --> 0:15:45.320 the likes of the Open AI and others having partnerships 0:15:45.680 --> 0:15:50.560 with either from a staffing perspective or a strategic perspective 0:15:50.720 --> 0:15:52.960 with device makers, and we're also seeing that in terms 0:15:53.000 --> 0:15:55.880 of dialogues that we're having with AI companies and their 0:15:56.760 --> 0:15:59.520 desire to work with us from go to market perspective 0:15:59.560 --> 0:15:59.880 as well. 0:16:02.200 --> 0:16:05.480 What is the truth of what's happening with memory? How 0:16:05.520 --> 0:16:07.080 severe is that as a bottleneck. 0:16:07.640 --> 0:16:12.720 Well, certainly this incredible spend and development of AI in 0:16:12.800 --> 0:16:16.200 terms of the AI infrastructure is really driving the component shortage. 0:16:16.200 --> 0:16:18.560 It's not only a memory, but you're also hearing it 0:16:18.640 --> 0:16:22.080 in terms of CPU and of course GPU demand as well. 0:16:22.440 --> 0:16:26.120 I think that would be multi year opportunity in terms 0:16:26.200 --> 0:16:29.120 of that demand. But at the same time, the industry 0:16:29.200 --> 0:16:31.440 needs to catch up in terms of that supply chain 0:16:31.520 --> 0:16:34.520 to satisfy that demand. But I think for now that's 0:16:34.520 --> 0:16:39.000 causing the supply and demand imbalance, is causing the memory 0:16:39.000 --> 0:16:41.640 prices to go up. But on the AI infrastructure side, 0:16:41.640 --> 0:16:44.000 we're able to pass through that demand because that's where 0:16:44.040 --> 0:16:47.160 the strong demand is in terms of the pricing for 0:16:48.120 --> 0:16:50.840 But on the device side, I think the lower end 0:16:50.880 --> 0:16:53.440 you're starting to see in terms of the first quarter 0:16:53.520 --> 0:16:58.040 IDC numbers that those that cannot get supplied. I think 0:16:58.040 --> 0:17:00.080 I have seen the market share as decline. 0:17:00.360 --> 0:17:03.000 So when some what you just outline and bear with 0:17:03.040 --> 0:17:06.240 me on this one, how much are you negotiating with yourself? 0:17:06.600 --> 0:17:11.840 You have different business lines, they both need common components 0:17:11.920 --> 0:17:13.679 high bandwidth memory. 0:17:13.840 --> 0:17:14.920 You know that on the. 0:17:14.800 --> 0:17:17.840 Infrastructure side, the service side, that's where the demand is. 0:17:18.320 --> 0:17:19.920 So do you have to have a word with yourself 0:17:19.920 --> 0:17:23.159 and say, well, what about my PC business? Do you 0:17:23.200 --> 0:17:26.399 have to make a choice of where you prioritize. 0:17:26.840 --> 0:17:29.600 That's a great question in terms of but I think 0:17:29.800 --> 0:17:32.960 what these suppliers appreciate with us is that we have 0:17:33.040 --> 0:17:36.960 that global portfolio. We have the most complete portfolio from 0:17:37.280 --> 0:17:40.160 PC to tablet to smartphone, and I think that gives 0:17:40.200 --> 0:17:43.439 them the forecast necessary. As our long term partners, we 0:17:43.520 --> 0:17:46.280 also have that demand forecast from the server side as 0:17:46.280 --> 0:17:48.840 well of our business. So from that perspective, we are 0:17:48.920 --> 0:17:51.240 strategic partners for suppliers as well in terms of that 0:17:51.320 --> 0:17:54.280 accuracy of that forecast. We need to supply in terms 0:17:54.320 --> 0:17:57.920 of satisfying our long term the noble friends in terms 0:17:57.920 --> 0:18:00.119 of the thing pad which is so well loved in 0:18:00.119 --> 0:18:01.880 the market, and I think we need to make sure 0:18:01.920 --> 0:18:04.359 that there's enough supply going to that demand as well. 0:18:05.520 --> 0:18:08.119 Lenovo CFO, Winston Chain, it's great to have you on 0:18:08.160 --> 0:18:08.840 Bloomberg Tech. 0:18:08.880 --> 0:18:11.480 Thank you very much. Now, coming up from the show. 0:18:11.600 --> 0:18:15.960 Smart ring Maker or files confidentially for a US public listing. 0:18:16.000 --> 0:18:18.119 We're gonna have the details of that next. This is 0:18:18.119 --> 0:18:19.160 Bloomberg Tech. 0:18:32.160 --> 0:18:35.320 Hardware is very very attractive right now because you can't 0:18:35.400 --> 0:18:37.919 vibe code atoms, yes, right, you can't just. 0:18:37.880 --> 0:18:38.920 Summon them into existence. 0:18:38.960 --> 0:18:42.640 And so interestingly, I think for Aura, steering the way 0:18:42.680 --> 0:18:44.960 we have and having always been a hardware company with 0:18:45.000 --> 0:18:47.840 a very strong software backing, it's actually been really advantageous 0:18:47.840 --> 0:18:49.720 in investors look at us and they say, good, we're 0:18:49.760 --> 0:18:51.000 so glad that you're not in. 0:18:50.960 --> 0:18:52.880 The software space and that you're a hardware provider. 0:18:54.040 --> 0:18:56.960 That was or a CEO, Tom Hale, giving perhaps a 0:18:57.119 --> 0:19:00.399 preview of how the wearable maker will pitch investors in 0:19:00.480 --> 0:19:02.840 an IPO. He was speaking to our Caroline Hide at 0:19:02.880 --> 0:19:06.480 the Concello Sparks summit, and just a week later or 0:19:06.560 --> 0:19:09.760 a files confidentially to go public. For more, let's speak 0:19:09.760 --> 0:19:14.280 to our consumer tech editor, Bloomberg's Dana Rolman. Okay, so 0:19:14.320 --> 0:19:17.240 we reported this citing a source that they'd filed confidentially. 0:19:17.280 --> 0:19:19.359 Then I think the company comes out and says, yes, 0:19:19.600 --> 0:19:22.680 we filed confidentially, but in our original report there's more 0:19:22.680 --> 0:19:25.879 detail there. There are some serious banks that are working 0:19:25.880 --> 0:19:27.720 with the company. This seems very real. 0:19:28.560 --> 0:19:31.600 Yes, absolutely, this is an all star list of banks. 0:19:31.840 --> 0:19:34.160 We believe Goldman Tax was the first on the list, 0:19:34.520 --> 0:19:36.199 and we don't know the exact timing, just that the 0:19:36.200 --> 0:19:39.280 company expects to go public sometime later this year, and 0:19:39.320 --> 0:19:41.720 other details are missing too, key details like what the 0:19:41.760 --> 0:19:43.640 price would be when it eventually hits. 0:19:43.400 --> 0:19:44.200 The stock market. 0:19:45.320 --> 0:19:48.199 Now the Bloomberg Tech audience is thinking, Hm, Ed's not 0:19:48.240 --> 0:19:50.679 looking as fresh as he did yesterday. I am an 0:19:50.800 --> 0:19:53.600 order wing wearer, which I pay for myself. Obviously, seventy 0:19:53.600 --> 0:19:57.240 four sleep score down from ninety the ninth prior. That 0:19:57.520 --> 0:20:03.560 is interesting historically actually most whereas women. They have a 0:20:03.640 --> 0:20:07.160 story for the male category, which is longevity. And then 0:20:07.400 --> 0:20:10.480 last October they raised money in an interesting valuation in 0:20:10.520 --> 0:20:14.160 the private markets. How much momentum is it or got 0:20:14.240 --> 0:20:14.640 right now? 0:20:15.240 --> 0:20:16.440 Oh so much momentum. 0:20:16.480 --> 0:20:16.680 I mean. 0:20:16.720 --> 0:20:19.480 Bloomberg actually published the story towards the start of the 0:20:19.520 --> 0:20:22.480 year saying that this would essentially be the year that 0:20:22.600 --> 0:20:26.600 smart rings went mainstream and this coming IPO really puts 0:20:26.640 --> 0:20:29.800 an exclamation point on that. Or has seen sales of 0:20:29.840 --> 0:20:32.679 its smart rings rising and rising, and it's remarkable and 0:20:32.720 --> 0:20:35.320 that it started out. Is this really niche hardware category 0:20:35.359 --> 0:20:37.439 and it's one that we really as journalists here at 0:20:37.440 --> 0:20:39.480 Bloomberg have had to spell out for a while, and 0:20:39.840 --> 0:20:41.879 we may get to a point where just it's widely 0:20:41.920 --> 0:20:44.879 understood what a smart ring is, and as you said, 0:20:44.920 --> 0:20:48.399 it might not just be something that a majority female 0:20:48.440 --> 0:20:52.320 audience wears, but that a really broader audience takes two. 0:20:54.119 --> 0:20:57.160 What about Tom Hale or a CEO, what has been 0:20:57.200 --> 0:21:00.560 his attitude towards the future this company? 0:21:00.640 --> 0:21:03.600 Just real quick, just. 0:21:03.560 --> 0:21:09.040 That it is a really viable kind of product that 0:21:09.080 --> 0:21:13.840 can reach a really wider audience. I think until now 0:21:13.880 --> 0:21:16.879 it's been sort of compared to smart watches, especially the 0:21:16.920 --> 0:21:18.919 Apple Watch, and I think Tom hell would say that 0:21:19.040 --> 0:21:21.920 something like the Aora ring carves its own lane. It's 0:21:21.920 --> 0:21:24.320 really for people who want something completely different, not the 0:21:24.400 --> 0:21:28.800 distractions of notifications or a screen on their wrist, but 0:21:28.880 --> 0:21:33.280