In 2021, the PC company Lenovo announced a doubling of R&D investment over the coming three years and committed to hiring an additional 12,000 R&D professionals. This came after the company reduced R&D expenditures between 2016 and 2018 by the rates of 9%, 7%, and 1% respectively. (The company also saw a decline in revenues and net profit during this time.) The 2021 increase was based on a suddenly strong business performance (27% year-on-year growth) and the highest net profit margin in years. The R&D increase aimed to transform the device company Lenovo into a global technology company offering also services and solutions.