September 18, 2025  DreamWorks Animation is strengthening its partnership with Lenovo, naming the company its preferred provider of computing equipment, workstations, and solutions. This announcement marks an important stage in a long-standing collaboration, now powered by Lenovo’s solutions and services. Through the integration of devices, data center infrastructure, and services into a complete Lenovo ecosystem, DreamWorks gains the computing power needed to adapt to the ever-changing demands of its artistic and technical teams an essential advantage in today’s dynamic environment. This collaboration is built on a shared commitment to quality service, ensuring DreamWorks has support at every stage of its business transformation journey.

Lenovo’s integrated services and solutions have already made a significant impact on DreamWorks’ production lines and business infrastructure:

• With Lenovo Neptune™ liquid cooling technology, performance increased by 20%, rendering speed improved, and iteration cycles became faster.
• Offering 25% higher performance compared to previous workstation models, animation programs running on ThinkStation™ P620 deliver shorter load times and a better experience for artists.
• With 98% utilization in its own data center and 300 million hours of processing for The Wild Robot project, Lenovo’s infrastructure adapted to meet unprecedented creative demands.

“Based on our long-standing relationship and Lenovo’s consistency in delivering excellent quality services, extending the collaboration was a natural step,” said Kate Swanborg, Senior Vice President for Technology Communications and Strategic Alliances, DreamWorks Animation. “This strengthens our partnership and gives DreamWorks the flexibility and operational scale needed to meet our business goals and produce world-class films.”

“The expansion of this collaboration highlights the essential role of advanced and scalable technologies and services, capable of supporting complex creative workflows and meeting the demands of modern content production,” added Ken Wong, Executive Vice President, Solutions and Services Group, Lenovo. “It also underscores the strategic impact of a trusted technology partnership when it comes to performance, reliability, and innovation required to push the boundaries of what’s possible in filmmaking and business.”

Integrated innovation: Expanding the Lenovo DreamWorks technology ecosystem

From strategy to 24/7 operations, Lenovo provides more than high-performance hardware it offers a service-centered ecosystem that allows DreamWorks’ technical teams to remain focused on what matters most. Lenovo’s scalable service model covers everything from daily support to installing critical IT systems for artists, enabling companies like DreamWorks to benefit from the tools, agility, and responsiveness needed at every stage of production.

• ThinkStation™ and ThinkPad™ P Series workstations are designed to deliver the performance and responsiveness required in any context, including modern film production making them ideal for artists, technical directors, and other professionals.
• ThinkSystem™ servers and HPC infrastructure enable rendering and animation requiring massive computing power.
• NEW: TruScale™ Infrastructure as a Service allows DreamWorks to scale processing resources as needed while avoiding heavy capital expenses. Covering the full ThinkSystem™ and ThinkAgile™ portfolios, it is designed to align infrastructure resources with production timelines.

With Lenovo TruScale™, DreamWorks maintains control and security of its existing infrastructure while benefiting from 24/7 proactive monitoring, management services, and expert support. As part of its services portfolio, Lenovo also supports DreamWorks’ sustainability goals by helping retire outdated systems and transition to more energy-efficient technologies.

DreamWorks also relies on Lenovo Premier Support Plus for round-the-clock assistance, rapid repairs, and minimal downtime. In a high-pressure creative industry, prompt support and expert planning are essential to simplify processes and help teams achieve ambitious production goals.

Proven performance: Technology evolving at incredible speed

The partnership between DreamWorks and Lenovo is a true example of creativity and ambition brought to life through innovative technologies. DreamWorks has leveraged Lenovo’s high-performance computing (HPC) solution — including the Neptune™ liquid cooling system to accelerate workflows and scale rendering during the studio’s most technically demanding productions. Neptune™ improved internal performance within the existing data center, increasing both energy efficiency and system stability, while enabling the studio to achieve more with fewer resources. Real-time iteration also proved critical, as Lenovo’s infrastructure allowed artists to explore, refine, and bring complex digital environments to life faster and with greater precision.

Lenovo’s professional services have enabled DreamWorks to adapt quickly. An HPC deployment that was expected to take one week was completed in just a day and a half. From custom hardware integration to premium services and proactive support, every implementation is designed for seamless execution and immediate production readiness.

This solid foundation of technologies and services now supports a new slate of DreamWorks films, including The Bad Guys 2 (August 2025) and Forgotten Island (September 2026). It will also play a central role in the making of Shrek 5(December 2026), once again demonstrating Lenovo’s impact on some of the studio’s most iconic and technically ambitious productions.

Lenovo will continue to support DreamWorks in streamlining operations and infrastructure, as well as in leveraging predictive analytics and intelligent workflows with the help of Lenovo’s AI-optimized infrastructure, which includes workstations, data center systems, and TruScale services. While DreamWorks does not use AI for image generation, the studio is exploring its potential to increase production efficiency, allowing artists to focus even more on the creative process. This integrated ecosystem will bridge individual creations with complete studio coordination, helping DreamWorks turn concepts into films faster, more agilely, and more innovatively.

“Strengthening our partnership with Lenovo is a key part of our technology strategy,” said Bill Ballew, CTO of DreamWorks Animation. “Lenovo’s hardware solutions provide outstanding processing power, and we are excited to collaborate with their AI teams to further optimize our infrastructure.”

“As production strategies evolve, the Lenovo–DreamWorks partnership is becoming a benchmark for how companies can harness the advantages of integrated solutions to support growth and meet both creative and operational demands,” added Wong.

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