Lenovo CEO Yuanqing Yang has committed to ambitious new targets for R&D hiring and achieving net zero emissions. Credit: IDG UK Lenovo has committed to hiring 12,000 new research and development (R&D) professionals over the next three years. The announcement was made during Lenovo’s annual company kick-off, where chairman and CEO Yuanqing Yang set out the company’s vision for the year ahead. Alongside the hiring commitment, Yang also said that R&D investment will be doubled during the 2022/23 financial year, as the company looks to stay ahead of new and emerging IT architectures. Last year, the Chinese-American tech giant hired 5,000 R&D workers to support research into what it calls “Client-Edge-Cloud-Network-Intelligence”. The newly announced hires will work on new hardware and software to help customers stay ahead of emerging technology trends, such as edge computing and the metaverse. “Our intention is to optimize between technology with quick market returns and foundational research, and between continuous improvement and breakthrough innovation,” Yang said. Yang also outlined Lenovo’s ongoing pledge to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, in line with the company’s Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) commitments. While Yang didn’t speak specifically about diversity and inclusion at today’s event, in Lenovo’s 2020/21 Environmental, Social, and Governance Report from earlier this year the company showed that it had managed to broaden its recruiting efforts and improve its onboarding process to hire tech workers from a wider variety of backgrounds. Related content feature Windows 11 Insider Previews: What’s in the latest build? Get the latest info on new preview builds of Windows 11 as they roll out to Windows Insiders. Now updated for Build 26217 for the Canary Channel, released on May 15, 2024. By Preston Gralla May 15, 2024 256 mins Small and Medium Business Microsoft Windows 11 news Senators propose $32B on AI spending without firm regulatory oversight After months of meetings with industry experts and AI critics, a group of four US senators published what they say is a comprehensive roadmap for maintaining US leadership in AI development. By Lucas Mearian May 15, 2024 4 mins Regulation Government Generative AI news Meta signals the end of the road for Workplace The enterprise social network was used by millions of workers, but a shift in Meta’s priorities means the app will be phased out over the next two years. By Matthew Finnegan May 15, 2024 3 mins Facebook Collaboration Software Productivity Software news analysis There aren't nearly enough workers to support new US chip production Even as the semiconductor industry hopes to find and recruit skilled workers, a lack of talent could undermine national objectives, push up labor costs, and hinder the returns from the billions of dollars being spent, according to a McKinsey & Co By Lucas Mearian May 15, 2024 10 mins CPUs and Processors Government Manufacturing Industry Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe