tl;dr: Dell Pro Max 16 Plus brings an enterprise-grade discrete NPU to a mobile workstation for fast, secure on-device AI. Local inferencing reduces latency, strengthens data privacy and stabilizes costs compared to cloud-only approaches. Dual Qualcomm AI 100 PC Inference Card with 64 GB dedicated AI memory enable high-fidelity FP16 performance for large models.
Artificial intelligence has already transformed the way we work and solve problems. The next challenge is to make that intelligence faster, more secure and more accessible to the professionals who rely on it every day.
Picture this: You’re a healthcare professional in a rural clinic. The MRI scan you just took could reveal a life-threatening condition, but the cloud connection lags and every second matters. Or imagine you’re a financial analyst, racing to detect fraud before millions of dollars vanish, but you can’t risk exposing sensitive data outside your secure environment.
For years, these scenarios meant compromise: waiting for cloud processing or risking critical data exposure. But what if you didn’t have to choose? What if enterprise-level AI performance fit inside your laptop? In today’s hybrid world of data and decisions, speed and control are non-negotiable. Engineers, researchers and analysts demand both high performance and data privacy – a balance between compute power, near real-time responsiveness and local control. Now, they can have it all.
That’s the promise behind the new Dell Pro Max 16 Plus featuring the Qualcomm® AI 100 PC Inference Card (a discrete NPU). Under the hood is a custom dual-NPU architecture, with two AI-100 NPUs on a single card that has 64GB of dedicated AI memory, built for sustained, high-fidelity FP16 inferencing. This notebook delivers datacenter-class on-device inferencing where work happens — the first mobile workstation with an enterprise-grade discrete NPU,* bringing datacenter-level performance, fidelity and consistency to a device you can carry.
This leap forward lets you run complex, large-scale AI models directly on your device, untethered from the cloud. It doesn’t just improve efficiency, it redefines what’s possible for security, privacy and innovation.
From cloud dependence to cloud-scale independence
Over the last decade, GPUs accelerated AI’s rise by parallelizing massive data sets and speeding up training. But inferencing — the real-time execution of trained models — demands something different. It calls for sustained performance, predictable latency and uncompromising accuracy.
That’s where the Qualcomm AI 100 PC Inference Card steps in and changes the game. This discrete NPU, purpose-built for inferencing at scale, lets you run large AI models with up to approximately 120 billion parameters directly on your laptop. It delivers the full accuracy of FP16 precision.
The discrete NPU transforms how performance, latency, security and mobility coexist. This isn’t an add-on – it’s a new class of processor designed to handle modern AI workloads across industries.
The benefits of this localized power are immediate and transformative:
Zero Cloud Dependency and Latency: Achieve real-time results without cloud roundtrips that can add hundreds of milliseconds. For time-critical workloads, that can mean missed opportunities or lost precision. By removing those constraints, you can work anywhere, even in disconnected or air-gapped environments, without sacrificing performance.
Airtight Security and Privacy: Keep sensitive data on-device, always. In regulated industries like healthcare, finance and government, data sovereignty is non-negotiable. The Dell Pro Max 16 Plus with the Qualcomm AI 100 PC Inference Card keeps every inference private and under your control by processing workloads entirely on-device.
Predictable Costs: Replace recurring and unpredictable cloud inferencing costs and token-based usage pricing with a one-time hardware investment that delivers consistent, scalable inferencing power.
True Portability: The “edge server in a backpack” concept is now real. High-fidelity AI performance can now move with your teams – enabling consistent results whether they’re diagnosing in a clinic, inspecting in a factory or deploying in the field.
Flexibility that fits how you work
The Dell Pro Max 16 Plus with the Qualcomm AI 100 PC Inference Card is built for flexibility — supporting both Windows and Linux environments, giving teams the flexibility to work in their preferred development stacks and toolchains. When running Windows, it integrates seamlessly with Dell’s ecosystem enablers for AI PCs, allowing IT administrators to manage security policies and lifecycle updates with the same precision as any corporate workstation.
Real-world impact: Stories from the field
Healthcare — Real-Time Diagnostics
Clinicians in mobile or rural clinics can analyze medical images directly on-device, generating instant insights while keeping patient data compliant with privacy regulations. The Qualcomm AI 100 PC Inference Card enables fast inferencing on high-resolution MRI or CT scans, even when connectivity is limited.
Finance, Legal and Government — Confidential AI
Analysts and policy teams can run predictive models, fraud detection and document classification in secure or air-gapped environments. Legal teams can transcribe sensitive depositions and automatically redact personal identifiable information (PII) in a completely secure environment, on-device. The result: faster decisions, total data control.
Engineering and Research — Accelerated Development
AI developers can benchmark and validate models locally, using the Dell Pro Max with the Qualcomm AI 100 Inference Card to fine-tune parameters and measure latency without waiting on cloud queues. In robotics and computer vision, engineers can process live sensor feeds and enable real-time decision loops — essential for autonomous systems, smart factories and field maintenance.
In every scenario, the benefit is the same: AI that performs immediately, securely and at scale — wherever innovation happens.
The right tool for the Job: Discrete NPU vs. GPU and integrated NPU
Not all processors handle AI workloads the same way. The Dell Pro Max with the Qualcomm AI 100 PC Inference Card offers a specialized advantage for modern AI inferencing.
Discrete NPU vs. Integrated NPU: Integrated NPUs found in standard laptops accelerate OS functions like background blur in video calls, but are limited to small models due to memory and performance constraints. An enterprise-grade discrete NPU operates on another level. With 32 AI cores and 64GB of dedicated on-card memory, it runs large, complex models that are far beyond the scope of integrated solutions.
Discrete NPU vs. GPU: GPUs are ideal for graphics, simulation and training AI models. The advantage of a discrete NPU is that it’s architecturally designed for sustained inferencing and is more power-efficient when running sustained workloads. In practice, that means you can run advanced AI models consistently and reliably, with lower power draw and less heat than traditional accelerators.
The future is local – and it’s here
The shift toward on-device inferencing transforms how professionals use AI. By delivering enterprise-level AI performance in a mobile form factor, the Dell Pro Max 16 Plus with the Qualcomm AI 100 PC Inference Card empowers faster, more secure and more flexible intelligence — anywhere.
No more waiting. No more compromising. Experience cloud-scale intelligence, wherever you work.
Ready to unlock cloud-scale AI performance on your workstation?
Contact a Dell Technologies expert and lead the next era of intelligent innovation.
*Disclaimer: Based an internal analysis of workstation providers, no one has an “enterprise-grade” discrete NPU in market. May 1, 2025.
