Lenovo originated as an offshoot of a state-owned research institute.[12] Then known as Legend and distributing foreign IT products, co-founder Liu Chuanzhi incorporated[2] Legend in Hong Kong in an attempt to raise capital and was successfully permitted to build computers in China,[13] and were helped by the American AST Research.[14] Legend listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1994 and became the largest PC manufacturer in China and eventually in Asia; they were also domestic distributors for HP printers, Toshiba laptops, and others.[13] After the company rebranded itself to Lenovo, it acquired IBM's PC business including its ThinkPad line in 2005, after which it rapidly expanded abroad.[15] In 2013, Lenovo became the world's largest personal computer vendor by unit sales for the first time,[16] a position it still holds as of 2024.[17]
Products manufactured by the company include desktop computers, laptops, tablet computers, smartphones, workstations, servers, supercomputers, data storage devices, IT management software, and smart televisions. Its best-known brands include its ThinkPad business line of notebooks, the IdeaPad, Yoga, LOQ, and Legion consumer lines of notebooks, and the IdeaCentre, LOQ, Legion, and ThinkCentre lines of desktops. Lenovo is also part of a joint venture with NEC, named Lenovo NEC Holdings, that produces personal computers for the Japanese market. The company also operates Motorola Mobility which produces smartphones.
experienced engineers, teaming up with Danny Lui,[19] officially founded Lenovo in Beijing on 1 November 1984, with 200,000 yuan.[18][20] The Chinese government approved Lenovo's incorporation on the same day. Jia Xufu (贾续福), one of the founders of Lenovo, indicated that the first meeting in preparation for starting the company was held on 17 October the same year. Eleven people, the entirety of the initial staff, attended. Each of the founders was a member of the Institute of Computing Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The 200,000 yuan used as start-up capital was approved by Zeng Maochao (曾茂朝). The name for the company agreed upon at this meeting was the Chinese Academy of Sciences Computer Technology Research Institute New Technology Development Company.[18]
The organizational structure of the company was established in 1985 after the Chinese New Year. It included technology, engineering, administrative, and office departments.[18] The group first attempted to import televisions but failed. It rebuilt itself as a company doing quality checks on computers. It also tried and failed to market a digital watch.[21]