Acer is looking beyond its traditional PC business as it marks its 50th anniversary globally, with artificial intelligence, enterprise computing, home appliances, health care and energy emerging as key areas for its next phase of growth.
The company is also celebrating the 10th anniversary of Acer Day, which has evolved from a marketing campaign into a broader lifestyle platform combining music, sports, health and wellness.
Acer Pan Asia Pacific President Andrew Hou said the company remains committed to PCs as its core business while pursuing new opportunities across the region.
“For our global strategy, we still focus on PC because it is our main business. So we remain very focused and committed to PC and developing more products. This will also be our engine for growth,” Hou said.
Acer’s four major focus areas for the next 50 years are industrial PCs and point-of-sale systems, smart medical technology, energy and home appliances.
AI, servers eyed for growth
Beyond consumer computers, Acer is putting greater emphasis on enterprise technology, particularly through its Altos server business.
Hou said Acer has been rebuilding its server business in Asia-Pacific and has expanded into AI servers as demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure grows.
“Altos is already a growing business for Acer on PAP. And now we also expand to AI server. So that is also another opportunity we see already,” Hou said.
He also sees growing potential in on-premise and edge AI, as businesses and institutions look for ways to process sensitive data locally instead of relying entirely on cloud services. “
A lot of institutions or hospitals, they don’t want their data out of the cloud. So it may be even better for them to do the model training on the local side, so-called on-premise AI server,” Hou said.
Acer is likewise expanding its Acerpure home appliance business. Hou described the sector as a major opportunity, noting that the company has moved from smaller appliances into larger products.
“Home appliance is really a big market. It is even much bigger than IT. Acer has started with air conditioners and may eventually expand into refrigerators and washing machines,” he said.
Continued leadership
Acer said new businesses already account for more than 30 percent of its revenue in Asia, while PCs remain its core business at about 33 percent to 34 percent of total revenue.
In the Philippines, Acer is building on its longstanding position in the PC market. Acer Philippines Managing Director Sue Ong-Lim said the company remains the country’s No. 1 total PC brand and is celebrating 20 consecutive years of leadership in notebooks, while also holding leading positions in consumer desktops, monitors, projectors and commercial PC segments.
GfK data presented by Acer showed the company reached a 37.9 percent year-to-date market share from January to July 2026, its highest YTD figure, while July alone reached 41 percent.
Ong-Lim said Acer’s priority is not simply to increase its own market share but also to expand the overall PC market by reaching underserved consumers.
Growth potential
“What’s more important to Acer is not just all about market share. It’s making sure that the total market is growing alongside us. You know, being the market leader, that’s what we want. We want to serve untapped markets, underserved markets,” she said.
Despite inflation, rising component costs and other economic pressures, she said the Philippine consumer and gaming market continued to grow.
“The Philippine market grew by 8 percent, but Acer even grew faster at the pace of 10 percent, already being a dominant player in that,” Ong-Lim said.
Ong-Lim said Acer sees several areas of potential growth in the Philippines, rather than relying on a single segment.
For PCs, the company wants to encourage wider adoption among students, everyday users, professionals and other consumer groups.
Enterprise computing is another priority, particularly through Altos and Acer’s newer commercial products.
“Enterprise market is something that we have maybe a lower base. So if you talk about growth, that’s something we are really wanting to grow faster on. With of course Altos and the newer Acer commercial products,” Ong-Lim said.
Acerpure is also expanding, with seven product lines and more than 10 SKUs already available in the Philippines. The company is moving into air conditioners after establishing its small-appliance business.
Adapting to consumers
As consumers keep their devices longer, Acer is also working to make upgrades more relevant and accessible.
Ong-Lim said newer applications and AI capabilities are placing greater demands on older computers, while battery life and performance can deteriorate over time.She also highlighted purchasing power as an important consideration for Filipino consumers.
“Financing. The purchasing power is super important to Filipinos. So we try to integrate Acer’s commitment in serving and creating more value for our consumers by offering a lighter option for them to make it more accessible and affordable,” Ong-Lim said.
She said Acer must continue adjusting to changing consumer lifestyles, including through initiatives such as Acer Day.
More than a music fest
The company held its Acer Day concert Sunday, Aug. 30, at the Araneta Coliseum, marking the event’s 10th anniversary in the Philippines.
The celebration featured SB19, 6cyclemind, Hey June!, El Manu and Jessy Kang, Dionela, Fitterkarma and Earl Agustin, with Luis Manzano as host.
Ong-Lim said Acer Day has grown significantly since the Philippines joined the initiative in 2017, evolving from a small concert into larger events and, eventually, activities focused on lifestyle, fitness and wellness.
“Concert or music fests remain relevant because Filipinos love our music. We also want to go the next step. It’s a lifestyle. We need to take care of the health and wellness, looking at running as well,” she said.
As Acer enters its next 50 years, Ong-Lim said the goal is to diversify without losing focus on the company’s core business.
“You can see the diversification now, but at the same time, not losing focus and concentration at the core and the root of our organization,” Ong-Lim said.
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