Lenovo Group Ltd. today is expanding its TruScale infrastructure-as-a-service model to its portfolio of specialized “edge AI” servers, enabling businesses of all sizes to deploy artificial intelligence applications at the network edge.

The expansion of its pay-as-you-go model to edge AI comes as Lenovo announced its most powerful such server yet. The ThinkEdge SE455 V3 is a new offering that Lenovo says delivers the power and energy efficiency required to deploy more powerful AI applications at the edge.

The new service and server is coupled with Lenovo’s AI Innovators program, which helps customers to simplify the process of creating and deploying cutting-edge AI applications and models. With this unique combination, Lenovo says, organizations of any size can benefit from AI-generated insights and content in any location.

Lenovo’s TruScale Infrastructure Services provide a way for businesses to access the company’s latest data center hardware and services without having to pay for anything up front. It’s a consumption-based model, similar to Dell Technologies Inc.’s Apex-as-a-service offering, where customers never take ownership of the equipment, but simply for what they use each month, adding the costs to their operating expenses. With this model, businesses with limited funding can access the most advanced data center and, now, edge AI hardware, without any significant investment.

Lenovo has offered access to its regular data center servers through TruScale for a number of years already, and now it thinks the time is right to extend that model to its portfolio of edge AI hardware. It says efficient edge computing infrastructure is essential for companies that want to build intelligent applications that can operate in remote locations. It cites edge AI applications that can power new emergency response, public safety, accessibility, tourism and retail experiences.

The new Lenovo ThinkEdge SE455 V3 is based on Advanced Micro Devices Inc.’s most powerful new processor, the EPYC 8004, which is designed to maximize computing efficiency, making it an ideal platform for intensive AI applications at the edge, where power availability is often limited.

“With today’s news, Lenovo continues to push the boundaries of what is possible at the edge, making it easier than ever before to deploy critical edge computing that efficiently delivers transformative AI-powered insights for any business, anywhere,” said Lenovo Infrastructure Solutions Group President Kirk Skaugen.

Lenovo said its infrastructure can power edge AI workloads such as computer vision, audio recognition, prediction, security and virtual assistants. For instance, its edge servers have been deployed by Pesca Azteca, Latin America’s largest tuna fishing fleet, across dozens of ocean-going vessels. They use Lenovo’s edge AI servers to provide accurate and reliable insights into food and fuel consumption on each vessel.

“Our crews can stock up with the exact supplies needed for every voyage, avoiding shortages and reducing unnecessary expenses while obtaining accurate, real-time information on the amount of fish caught, propelling more efficient, precise and profitable operations,” said Pesca Azteca IT Infrastructure Manager Sergio Alcaraz Pérez.

Lenovo said its edge AI offerings also power applications that can detect workplace hazards, defective machinery and fire, monitor and engage with large crowds in public places, security and business intelligence, all in real time.

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