What is really driving the sudden rise of AI PCs, and why are enterprises and chipmakers aligning around a shift few fully understand yet?
For years, the AI revolution belonged to hyperscalers, GPU clusters, and massive cloud infrastructure. Now, according to Ingram Micro Executive Director Navdeep Narula, the focus is rapidly shifting toward the endpoint, with AI PCs emerging as the technology industry’s next major battleground.
In an exclusive interview, Narula described the current AI PC wave as “the return of the endpoints,” comparing the shift to a ‘Star Wars-style comeback’ after years of cloud-dominated AI investments. “The endpoint felt left behind,” he said. “Now it is striking back.” He argued that the technology ecosystem is collectively pushing intelligence back toward devices, driven by a mix of enterprise demand, hardware innovation, and the industry’s need for a fresh computing cycle.
According to Narula, the AI infrastructure story initially revolved around GPUs, servers, storage, and hyperscale data centres. But in the last 12 to 18 months, the narrative has changed dramatically with the rise of NPUs, or neural processing units, inside enterprise PCs. He credited companies like Microsoft, Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, and major OEMs for aggressively accelerating the transition.
Narula said Microsoft played a particularly significant role by positioning Windows 11 and Copilot+ PCs as AI-ready platforms, while chipmakers simultaneously pushed higher TOPS performance and low-latency computing for enterprise workloads. He described AI PCs as a strategic necessity for the endpoint industry, stating that hardware vendors “do not want to miss the bus” as AI computing expands.
However, he also acknowledged that the hardware ecosystem is moving much faster than software adoption. While enterprises already have access to powerful NPU-enabled systems, the software ecosystem for localised AI applications remains fragmented and immature. “The hardware is definitely ahead of the software world,” Narula admitted during the discussion.
Despite the excitement, Ingram Micro believes enterprise AI adoption will remain infrastructure-first for the foreseeable future. Most AI workloads today still operate across cloud platforms and enterprise infrastructure rather than directly on endpoints. Narula noted that AI PCs currently serve more as hybrid AI companions than complete replacements for cloud AI.
Yet he believes that will change over the next five years as local AI workloads mature. He pointed to autonomous systems, low-latency applications, privacy-sensitive enterprise computing, and always-on AI experiences as key drivers that could eventually push intelligence to the edge.
Closing the interaction, Narula said the shift from conventional PCs to AI PCs could unfold “much faster than expected,” calling it one of the biggest opportunities the endpoint industry has seen in years, particularly for enterprises positioned at the centre of this transition.
In the capacity of Executive Director at Ingram Micro, Navdeep Narula heads the Client & Endpoint Solutions business, which spans devices and solutions across IT, mobility, and consumer electronics. He is recognized for his interest in technology and convergence, and for closely observing emerging trends. Over the years, he has also shared his perspectives as a speaker at industry forums and academic institutions.
