Key Takeaways
- Nectar Social, an AI startup that raised $30 million in Series A funding, has identified Pakistan as a key engineering hub.
- The company's Lahore-based team develops core AI technology used by over 10 million brands globally.
- Co-founder Misbah Uraizee emphasizes the importance of exposing Pakistani engineers to global standards and mentorship.
Nectar Social, an artificial intelligence (AI) startup that recently secured $30 million in Series A funding, has highlighted Pakistan’s strong engineering talent as a key factor in its growth strategy. The company's co-founder Misbah Uraizee spoke to ProPakistani about the importance of nurturing local talent while ensuring it remains competitive on a global scale.
Uraizee explained that Nectar Social initially expanded organically after discovering Pakistan’s robust engineering capabilities, finding it easier to operate in Lahore than many expected. The company now has a core engineering hub in Lahore, where its engineers work on the same AI products and systems as colleagues based in Silicon Valley and New York.
Despite this, senior leadership remains concentrated in the Bay Area, with Uraizee stating that this is intentional for developing Pakistan’s early-career engineers into future leaders. She noted that while many of Pakistan's most capable AI engineers eventually move abroad or join foreign companies, this exposure to world-class product development and mentorship is crucial.
Uraizee argued that AI presents a unique opportunity to rapidly upgrade Pakistan’s technical workforce by placing junior engineers in globally competitive environments where they can learn through real-world projects. She emphasized that money alone will not build the country's AI ecosystem; instead, exposure to high engineering standards, experienced mentors, global customers, and production-scale software development creates lasting value.
The co-founder highlighted that Pakistan’s biggest untapped advantage is the gap between perception and reality. While many international companies still overlook the country, those that have invested (such as Careem, Motive, and now Nectar) have demonstrated that Pakistan can support world-class engineering organizations at scale.
Looking ahead, Uraizee sees Pakistan's most realistic opportunity as becoming a global AI talent hub before aspiring to become a major AI product powerhouse. This will require predictable regulations, stronger protection of intellectual property, easier business conditions, and tax policies that encourage skilled engineers and founders to remain in the country instead of seeking opportunities elsewhere.
For now, Pakistan’s AI engineers are already helping shape products used by millions worldwide. The next challenge is ensuring that this talent nurtured in Pakistan not only powers global brands but also drives innovation from within the country.
Pakistan has consistently justified further investment.
Misbah Uraizee, Co-founder of Nectar Social
Exposure to high engineering standards, experienced mentors, global customers and production-scale software development creates lasting value that eventually attracts investment, not the other way around.
Misbah Uraizee, Co-founder of Nectar Social
