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Independent candidates backed by the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) party emerged as the largest single block with 93 seats in the nation's parliament in the general elections held on February 8, 2024. This feat was accomplished in spite of huge obstacles thrown in front of the PTI's top leader Imran Khan and his party leaders and supporters by Pakistan's powerful military…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on February 16, 2024 at 9:22pm — 1 Comment
Bollywood star Kajol has said at a recent event that Indian political leaders are uneducated. Though she did not name anyone, she is facing vicious attacks by Modi Bhakts, a label embraced by the staunch supporters of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Here's what she said, "Change especially in a country like India is slow. It’s very very slow because for one we are steeped in our tradition, steeped in our thought process and, of course, it has to be with tradition. You have political…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on July 8, 2023 at 4:30pm — 21 Comments
Responding candidly to a question in the Indian capital New Delhi, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said: "The way this works is we're going to tell you, it's totally hopeless to compete with us on training foundation models you shouldn't try, and it's your job to like try anyway. And I believe both of those things. I think it is pretty hopeless." This occurred at an event organized…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on June 12, 2023 at 5:00pm — 52 Comments
Growing access to smartphones and Internet connectivity is transforming the lives of women in rural Pakistan. They are acquiring knowledge, accessing healthcare and finding economic opportunities. A recent UNDP report titled "DigitAll: What happens when women of Pakistan get access to digital and tech…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on April 23, 2023 at 8:00am — 17 Comments
Pakistan has seen several boot camps started in recent years to respond to growing demand for practical tech training in the country. Two of my fellow NED University alumni in Silicon Valley - Saeed Kazmi and Idris Kothari - are "helping an initiative in Pakistan with a company xLoop Digital (…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on April 11, 2023 at 8:30am — 13 Comments
Pakistani startups raised $23.1 million in the first quarter of this year after hitting a low of $15.2 million in the last quarter of 2022, according to Data Darbar. The amount of money raised by Pakistani startups increased in each of the first 3 months of 2023, bringing the total funding amount to $945.4 million across 321 deals since 2015. It started out slow with just $1.5 million…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on April 1, 2023 at 7:45pm — 2 Comments
It is International Women's Day on March 8, and its theme is "DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality". It's a day to highlight Pakistani women's participation in science and technology. Nearly half a million Pakistani women are currently enrolled in science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses at universities, accounting for nearly 46% of all STEM students in higher…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on March 6, 2023 at 9:00pm — 16 Comments
Karachi-based start-ups raised $236.7 million in 2022, accounting for two-thirds of Pakistan's total startup funding and almost double the previous year, according to Data Darbar. Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, is followed by Lahore with $69.2 million and Islamabad with $41.6 million. Nationally, the…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on February 22, 2023 at 8:30pm — 13 Comments
Abdus Salam Qureishi, a successful technology entrepreneur and philanthropist, passed away last Saturday, August 6, 2022. He was 86. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un( إنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ ). He was a pillar of the Muslim community in Silicon Valley. Qureishi rose from humble origins in the Indian city of Aligarh and became very successful in the United States. He was very generous with his time and money in supporting the community. He helped build several…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on August 11, 2022 at 9:30am — No Comments
Soaring demand for consumer electronics and low labor costs are attracting major global smartphone manufacturers like Samsung to Pakistan. In 2021, local manufacturers produced 25 million handsets, up a whopping 88% increase from 13 million produced in 2020. A key factor credited for this rapid production ramp-up is the new …
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on August 2, 2022 at 6:30pm — 10 Comments
Technology startups in Pakistan received record $249 million funding during January-June 2022, up a whopping 171% from the same period last year. A total of 35 deals closed, up 6% from the first half of 2021. July 2022 saw a maiden investment from Sequoia Capital which is considered among the top venture capital firms headquartered in Silicon Valley, California. Last year was a banner…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on July 29, 2022 at 12:26pm — 33 Comments
In yet another blow to Silicon Valley's "fake it till you make it" mantra, a federal jury has convicted former Theranos executive Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani on all 12 counts of fraud. Balwani was born in 1965 in Pakistan to a Sindhi Hindu family. He attended Aitchison College, an elite prep school in Lahore that is also the alma mater of former Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan. His family emigrated to India in 1984 and then to the United States in 1987. He studied at the University…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on July 7, 2022 at 5:30pm — 6 Comments
Pakistan's chief central banker Dr. Reza Baqir's 3-year term saw a broad expansion and modernization of the nation's financial services industry. The impact of Baqir's policies can be seen in multiple sectors including agriculture, housing, manufacturing, exports, financial digitization and record-high investments in technology startups. Supported by Dr. Baqir's accommodative monetary…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on May 5, 2022 at 8:30am — 8 Comments
The US and its allies enjoy a significant technological advantage over China and Russia. The Chinese are working hard to catch up but the West is not standing still. It is making huge investments in research and development to maintain this edge as it becomes increasingly clear that the outcome of the ongoing international geopolitical competition will largely be determined by technology. …
Added by Riaz Haq on April 13, 2022 at 7:53am — 74 Comments
Prime Minister Imran Khan has effectively led Pakistan through multiple crises in the last 4 years. Khan inherited dangerously low forex reserves in 2018 which are now at $23 billion, near the highest level in the nation's history. The COVID pandemic that hampered Pakistan's recovery has been handled well with the fully vaccinated rate for the eligible population at more than 75%. Not only has Khan deftly navigated his nation through these crises but his government has also revived the…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on March 29, 2022 at 9:00am — 50 Comments
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) will no longer fabricate computer chips for Russia, according to media reports. The ban will particularly affect Russia's Elbrus and Baikal processors, unless China agrees to step in to manufacture these chips, and risk additional US sanctions itself. Both Russian processors use mature 28 nm technology. The world's most advanced TSMC fabrication…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on March 23, 2022 at 8:30am — 18 Comments
Salaries of Pakistanis hired for remote work by foreign employers are among the world's fastest rising, according to the "State of Global Hiring Report 2021" produced by San Francisco based Deel. The company provides employment and payroll services for companies hiring international employees and contractors online. Hiring for work from remote locations has taken off since the start of…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on February 16, 2022 at 5:00pm — 5 Comments
Our Next Energy (ONE), a two-year-old Michigan startup founded by Pakistani-American Mujeeb Ijaz, has received $25 million in initial investment from Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy Ventures and German automaker BMW. Storage battery technology is a key area of innovation to bring about clean energy revolution. Mujeeb Ijaz has engineered a way to achieve longer ranges for electric vehicles from…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on February 5, 2022 at 10:00am — 2 Comments
The Covid19 pandemic that started in late 2019 continued to ravage the world in 2021. Europe, India and the United States were among the most impacted by it. Pakistan was able to control it better than its large eastern neighbor but it, too, was hit by double digit global inflation. Pakistan's economic recovery began in earnest with higher GDP growth, record exports and remittances from the…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on December 30, 2021 at 8:00am — 20 Comments
Luma Health, co-founded by Adnan Iqbal, a second generation Pakistani American, raised $130 million in series C funding. Adnan's fellow co-funders include Dr. Tashfeen Ekram, a Pakistani-American and Aditya Bansod, an Indian-American. The latest round has brought Luma's total funding to $160 million. "I have had a life of privilege. I have been to the right institutions. I have played…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on December 17, 2021 at 5:00pm — 1 Comment
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Pakistani student enrollment in America's institutions of higher learning rose 16% last year, outpacing the record 12% growth in the number of international students hosted by the country. This puts Pakistan among eight sources in the top 20 countries with the largest increases in US enrollment. India saw the biggest increase at 35%, followed by Ghana 32%, Bangladesh and…
ContinuePosted by Riaz Haq on April 1, 2024 at 5:00pm
Pakistan's agriculture sector GDP grew at a rate of 5.2% in the October-December 2023 quarter, according to the government figures. This is a rare bright spot in the overall national economy that showed just 1% growth during the quarter. Strong performance of the farm sector gives the much needed boost for about …
ContinuePosted by Riaz Haq on March 29, 2024 at 8:00pm
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