DreamWorks Animation has named Lenovo as its preferred provider of compute services, workstations, and solutions, expanding a long-term collaboration aimed at supporting the studio’s film production needs.
The partnership combines Lenovo’s devices, data center infrastructure, and services into one ecosystem to meet the growing technical demands of DreamWorks’ artistic teams. Both companies said the move reflects a shared focus on delivering consistent support across business and creative operations.
“This expanded relationship underscores the vital role of advanced, scalable technologies and services in powering complex creative workflows and meeting the demands of modern content production,” said Ken Wong, EVP and president, Solutions and Services Group, Lenovo. “It highlights the strategic impact of a trusted technology partnership in delivering the performance, reliability, and innovation required to push the boundaries of what’s possible in filmmaking and what’s possible in business.”
Lenovo said its systems and services have already improved DreamWorks’ operations. The company reported a 20% performance increase in rendering speeds with its Neptune liquid cooling solution and a 25% boost in animation programs running on ThinkStation P620s compared to older workstations. For the film “The Wild Robot,” Lenovo infrastructure supported 300 million compute hours and achieved 98% data center utilization.
“Based on our long-standing relationship and Lenovo’s consistent delivery excellence, expanding our collaboration was a natural next step,” said Kate Swanborg, SVP of Technology Communications and Strategic Alliances at DreamWorks Animation. “This deepens our collaboration and gives DreamWorks the flexibility and operational scale we need to fuel our business ambitions and deliver world-class filmmaking.”
As part of the partnership, Lenovo provides ThinkStation and ThinkPad P Series workstations, ThinkSystem servers, and high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure for rendering and animation pipelines. Its TruScale Infrastructure as a Service model also allows DreamWorks to scale resources based on production timelines while managing costs and maintaining on-premises control.
Aside from the hardware, Lenovo offers Premier Support Plus for round-the-clock technical help and proactive services that minimize downtime. The company said a recent HPC deployment for DreamWorks was completed in 1.5 days instead of the expected week, demonstrating its ability to deliver fast, production-ready solutions.
The technology foundation now supports upcoming DreamWorks projects, including “The Bad Guys 2” in August 2025, “Forgotten Island” in September 2026, and “Shrek 5” in December 2026.