CIO Connect · APAC Roundtable Series

The Gigawatt Question.

Pocket to cloud, decided one gigawatt at a time.

A closed-door roundtable series for CIOs and CTOs on the infrastructure economics behind running AI at scale, and the governance most organisations are still building after the fact.

6x
Cities across APAC
4x
Key talking points
46%
Of AI pilots now reach production, up from 10% a year ago
96%
APAC organisations planning to increase AI investment

From pilot to production, at gigawatt scale.

Lenovo's fourth annual CIO Playbook, drawn from interviews with 3,120 decision makers worldwide, tracks the shift underway across the region.

A year ago, only 1 in 10 AI pilots made it into production. This year that figure has jumped to 46%. AI has stopped being a side project. Across Asia Pacific, 96% of organisations plan to increase AI investment over the next 12 months, chasing an average return of $2.78 for every dollar spent. But the same report found only 27% of organisations have a comprehensive governance framework in place, and the infrastructure decision behind all of it, on premises, edge, or cloud, is still a live, unresolved question for most of the room.

The Gigawatt Question is hosted by Lenovo alongside Innovatus Media, bringing together CIOs and CTOs across APAC to talk through what's actually driving that shift: the infrastructure economics behind running AI at scale, and the governance most organisations are still building after the fact, not before.

Sessions run under Chatham House rules, with a small, invitation only group of senior technology leaders. No product demos, no benchmark slides. Just the people who own this decision, comparing notes with peers making the same call.

What we'll be exploring.

Talking points on the table include, but are not limited to:

01
Why AI pilots are finally reaching production at 46%, up from just 10% a year ago, and what's different about the ones that make it.
02
On premises, edge, or cloud: the infrastructure decision behind every AI investment, and why hybrid is becoming the default.
03
The governance gap: only 27% of organisations have a framework built for the scale they're now running at.
04
Proving the $2.78 return: what CIOs are actually being asked to show for AI spend, and by whom.

Six cities across APAC.

Cities below are proposed and subject to confirmation before dates are locked.

Sydney
Australia
Date + TimeTo be confirmed
VenueTo be confirmed
Melbourne
Australia
Date + TimeTo be confirmed
VenueTo be confirmed
Singapore
Singapore
Date + TimeTo be confirmed
VenueTo be confirmed
Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Date + TimeTo be confirmed
VenueTo be confirmed
Manila
Philippines
Date + TimeTo be confirmed
VenueTo be confirmed
Bangkok
Thailand
Date + TimeTo be confirmed
VenueTo be confirmed
“Every enterprise wants to scale AI. Not many have worked out what it costs in power to actually do it.”

The Gigawatt Question, Lenovo

Lenovo's Hybrid AI Advantage, built with infrastructure partners including AMD and NVIDIA, gives enterprises AI ready infrastructure spanning device, data centre, edge and cloud, engineered to bring AI workloads into production with lower cost per token and faster time to value.

Connecting Innovation. Innovatus Media partners with global technology companies to connect C-Suite leaders around the world with new ideas, ways of working, and technologies. Innovatus' events are built on peer to peer collaboration, are private discussions, and are delivered with a lot of humility and informal energy.

CIO Playbook 2026: The Race for Enterprise AI, ebook cover
The research behind the series

CIO Playbook 2026: The Race for Enterprise AI.

Every talking point in this series is pulled from Lenovo's fourth annual CIO Playbook, developed with IDC. It's free to access, no cost, just a short form, if you want the full picture before you commit to a seat.

3,120
Decision makers interviewed worldwide
4th
Annual edition, with IDC
$2.78
Average return per dollar of AI spend
Download the CIO Playbook 2026

Save your seat.

This is an invite only executive roundtable. Register your interest and we'll confirm your city, venue, and date as they're locked in.

This is a design preview form. Live registration will be confirmed closer to each event.