AI on the PC is moving from hype toward practical use.
At IFA 2026 in Berlin, MENA TECH sat down with Emmanuel Fromont, Corporate Vice President and President of EMEA Operations at Acer, to discuss where AI PCs are heading, how Acer is expanding beyond its traditional PC business, and where the company sees its next opportunities for growth.
Fromont argues that understanding an AI PC requires looking beyond simply asking questions to ChatGPT. As AI agents become capable of more focused tasks — such as searching emails and photos, assisting with work, or carrying out specific actions — he expects more of those workloads to run locally on PCs.
He also points to cost and data considerations as reasons organizations may choose to process some AI workloads on-device rather than relying entirely on cloud-based AI, particularly as enterprise use of tokens and AI services grows.
The interview comes as Acer celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2026. Founded as Multitech on August 1, 1976, the company is now looking at growth across several dimensions, with Fromont identifying further opportunities in the Middle East and Africa, the commercial market, agentic AI, and businesses adjacent to Acer’s core PC expertise.
At IFA 2026, Acer’s new products included the 14-inch Swift Blade 14, weighing 799 grams, as well as Project DualPlay Mini, a concept that combines handheld gaming with laptop-style productivity. The company also relaunched Packard Bell with a new consumer-focused product portfolio as the brand marks its 100th anniversary.
From AI PCs and agentic AI to new product categories and Acer’s expansion beyond computing, the conversation offers a look at how the company is positioning itself for its next phase of growth.
