Dell GM hails new Pro Max Plus a "breakthrough product" for AI as it handles up to 109bn parameters on device

Dell is set to revolutionise the AI computing landscape with its groundbreaking Dell Pro Max Plus, featuring the Qualcomm discrete NPU. At Dell Technologies World 2025 last week, Business Today spoke to Charlie Walker, Senior Director and GM of Dell Pro Max and Pro Rugged Products, who hailed this new device as a "breakthrough product," emphasising its unparalleled capability to bring enterprise-class, server-grade NPU power to a mobile form factor.

Walker explained that the Dell Pro Max Plus stands alone in the current market landscape. "There is nothing else in the market that looks like that product," he said, underscoring the device’s industry-first status. This mobile workstation integrates Qualcomm’s AI 100 PC Inference Card, packing 32 AI cores and 64GB of LPDDR4x memory, enabling the Pro Max Plus to handle AI models with up to 109 billion parameters entirely on-device. This level of power traditionally required large, server-grade infrastructure, but Dell has succeeded in shrinking it into a portable form factor, tailored for AI engineers and data scientists working at the edge.

The device’s capacity to process extensive AI workloads offline is a critical advantage for industries where data privacy, latency, and model fidelity are non-negotiable. Walker highlighted healthcare as a prime example, where "the last thing you want ... is to go take and quantise a model, lose the fidelity," likening a degraded AI model to a "fuzzy JPEG," where clarity and accuracy are paramount. The ability to run high-speed inferencing with exceptional accuracy directly on the endpoint eliminates dependence on cloud connectivity, which is a significant step forward for sensitive applications.

Launching the Pro Max Plus at a time when the expiry of Microsoft Windows 10 is driving widespread enterprise hardware upgrades is a strategic move. Walker acknowledged this timing but was quick to clarify Dell’s stance. While the company is not directly involved in hardware recycling or buyback programmes, he noted the industry-wide momentum for device refreshes provides a perfect window for rolling out next-generation AI-ready systems. Yet, he cautioned that in the rapidly evolving AI landscape, "future-proofing" is almost impossible; instead, Dell aims to help customers "de-risk the future" by equipping them with current-generation technology that combines robust compute power with integrated NPUs capable of handling tomorrow’s AI workloads.

Walker also shared insights from Dell Technologies World 2025, where demonstration units of the Pro Max Plus showcased live, real-time coding and finishing recommendations. These demos illustrated how on-device AI can significantly boost productivity for developers by reducing latency and enhancing data security, benefits that align with Dell’s vision of empowering edge computing environments.

Beyond hardware, Dell is investing heavily in software innovation to complement its AI-capable devices. The Dell Pro AI Studio, a portal hosted on Hugging Face, provides users with access to validated AI models, which can be easily downloaded and run locally. This platform supports IT professionals with robust model management and deployment tools, ensuring that organisations can effectively harness AI’s potential within secure, manageable frameworks.