HP's new chief strategy officer bets edge AI—running models locally on devices rather than in the cloud—will reduce token costs and address data sovereignty concerns in Asia.

HP reported $14.4 billion in revenue in Q1 2026, a nearly 7% jump, with personal systems revenue reaching $10.3 billion (up 11%). AI PCs now make up 35% of devices sold, credited by interim CEO Bruce Broussard to 'continued momentum in AI PCs.'

The company is shifting AI workloads from cloud data centers to devices and offices—what Prakash Arunkundrum, HP's chief strategy and transformation officer, calls 'edge AI.' This approach runs models locally on AI PCs, Copilot-enabled printers, and smart meeting rooms, stitched together via software (the workforce experience platform).

Edge AI addresses two strategic pressures: it reduces token consumption and total cost of ownership by eliminating cloud-based processing, and it enables data sovereignty—keeping data in-country, which Arunkundrum argues is critical in Asia where governments increasingly restrict cloud-based AI for privacy and national security reasons.