TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Acer Taiwan Chief Operating Officer Chang Shih-hsin (張世欣) said Wednesday the company remains committed to growth despite declines in Taiwan’s overall PC market last year.

Bad economic conditions last year led to consumers and businesses tightening their budgets, leading to a weak PC replacement cycle, per CNA. To adapt, Acer said it has expanded its lower-priced laptop offerings.

Chang said in a media briefing the company’s first commercial AI laptop weighing under 1 kg, the Copilot+ PC TravelMate P6 14 AI, will be available in Taiwan starting in March, per UDN. This model features an Intel Core Ultra Series 2 processor and an integrated NPU capable of delivering up to 120 TOPS of AI computing power.

NPUs, or neural processing units, are a kind of microprocessor that differ from central processing units or graphics processing units. They are designed to accelerate AI workloads and complex mathematics locally.

With new AI features and upgraded specs, Acer said it expects the average mainstream laptop price in Taiwan to rise above NT$25,000 (US$761) this year, along with an increase in overall laptop sales compared to last year.

Acer said that the industry expects Taiwan’s overall PC shipments this year to decline by 0-5% year-over-year. Despite this, the company is targeting single-digit growth.