Lahore Team Builds Technology Used in Millions of Brand Conversations
Pakistan’s growing pool of artificial intelligence engineers is gaining recognition from international technology companies, with AI startup Nectar Social placing Lahore at the centre of its global product development strategy.
Nectar Social recently raised $30 million in Series A funding. The investment was led by Menlo Ventures and its Anthology Fund, created in partnership with Anthropic. True Ventures, GV and Kinship Ventures also participated in the funding round.
The company’s Lahore-based engineers are developing core AI technology used in its commercial products. According to co-founder and chief executive Misbah Uraizee, the Pakistan team works on the same codebase, production systems and AI products as employees based in Silicon Valley and New York.
The company says its platform manages more than 10 million online brand conversations every week. These interactions take place across social media platforms where consumers discuss products, contact companies and make purchasing decisions.
Unlike traditional outsourcing arrangements, the Lahore operation is directly involved in building and maintaining Nectar Social’s main technology. Engineers in Pakistan contribute to products used by major international consumer brands.
Uraizee said Nectar Social did not begin with a formal strategy to establish a major engineering presence in Pakistan. The company expanded there after finding skilled engineers and discovering that operating in the country was easier than many foreign businesses assume.
She said the company continues directing investment towards locations that deliver strong engineering results. Pakistan has repeatedly justified further investment because of the quality and potential of its technical workforce.
Nectar Uses AI Agents to Manage Social Media Engagement
Nectar Social describes itself as an AI-powered operating system for modern marketing. It helps consumer brands monitor online discussions, respond to customers and connect social media engagement with measurable sales.
Its technology uses autonomous AI agents to manage tasks that would otherwise require large marketing and customer support teams.
The platform can monitor comments, messages and brand mentions in real time. It can also identify customer sentiment, manage online communities and respond to consumers using a company’s preferred tone and communication guidelines.
Nectar Social also helps businesses connect social media activity with revenue. Its tools are designed to show whether online conversations, promotional campaigns or interactions with content creators result in purchases.
The company operates across platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, LinkedIn and X. It says official data partnerships allow its systems to analyse customer discussions and emerging trends without depending only on posts directly tagging a brand.
The startup was founded by sisters Misbah and Farah Uraizee, who previously held leadership positions at Meta. Nectar Social emerged from private development in 2025 and has since expanded its services for international consumer companies.
Its latest funding will support product development, recruitment and expansion of its AI-powered marketing technology.
Pakistan Engineers Work Alongside Global Product Teams
Uraizee said Lahore has become one of Nectar Social’s core engineering locations.
Pakistan-based employees are not assigned only to secondary support work. They participate in developing production-scale AI systems serving global customers.
This provides local engineers with exposure to demanding technical standards, international product development and large commercial software systems.
However, the company’s senior engineering and product leadership remains concentrated in California’s Bay Area. Uraizee said this structure is intentional and is expected to help less-experienced engineers in Pakistan work with established technology leaders before eventually moving into senior roles themselves.
The arrangement reflects a wider challenge facing Pakistan’s technology industry. Many capable engineers eventually move abroad or join foreign companies because they want stronger mentorship, international experience and access to larger product teams.
Uraizee argued that this kind of exposure should not be viewed only as a loss. It can help Pakistani engineers learn how globally competitive products are designed, tested, launched and expanded.
The long-term challenge is creating enough advanced opportunities inside Pakistan so experienced professionals can remain in the country or return after developing their skills abroad.
Real Product Development Could Strengthen Pakistan’s AI Workforce
Uraizee said Pakistan’s AI ecosystem cannot be developed through funding alone.
She argued that engineers need access to experienced mentors, international customers and production systems operating at a global scale.
Working on real commercial products allows junior engineers to understand reliability, security, artificial intelligence deployment and customer requirements. This experience may create more lasting value than isolated outsourcing assignments.
Pakistan has traditionally attracted software outsourcing work because of its large workforce and competitive costs. However, the Nectar Social model gives local engineers greater involvement in product ownership and strategic development.
Uraizee said companies including Careem and Motive have already demonstrated that large international technology operations can be built with Pakistani engineering talent. Nectar Social’s continued investment adds another example to that record.
She described the difference between Pakistan’s international image and its actual engineering capabilities as one of the country’s biggest untapped advantages.
Many global companies still overlook Pakistan because of concerns about regulation, infrastructure and business conditions. Companies already operating there may encounter a much deeper talent pool than they initially expected.
Leadership Development Remains the Next Major Challenge
Pakistan’s engineers are increasingly contributing to global artificial intelligence products, but the country still has fewer senior product and engineering leaders than established technology centres.
Building that leadership layer will require more than technical training. Engineers also need experience managing teams, making product decisions and dealing directly with international customers.
Nectar Social plans to develop early-career Pakistani engineers by connecting them with senior staff in the United States.
Over time, this could allow more product and engineering leadership positions to be based in Lahore.
The development of experienced local leaders would also help Pakistan create its own technology companies. Engineers trained inside successful international startups could later establish new businesses, mentor local teams or attract additional investment.
Without that progression, Pakistan risks remaining mainly a source of lower-cost technical labour while strategic decision-making stays abroad.
Pakistan Could First Emerge as a Global AI Talent Centre
Uraizee believes Pakistan’s most realistic immediate opportunity is to become a global AI talent centre before attempting to become a major creator of international AI products.
The country has a large young population, expanding computer science education and a growing freelance technology workforce.
However, converting that potential into a sustainable industry will require predictable regulations, better intellectual property protection and simpler business procedures.
Tax policies must also encourage skilled engineers and startup founders to remain in Pakistan rather than moving their careers and companies overseas.
Reliable internet access, payment infrastructure and the ability to receive international investment are also important for globally connected technology businesses.
Pakistan’s engineers are already helping develop AI products used by millions of consumers. The next test will be whether the country can convert those individual successes into a broader technology ecosystem.
Nectar Social’s investment in Lahore shows that Pakistan can support engineering teams working on advanced international products.
The bigger opportunity is ensuring that the skills developed inside these teams eventually strengthen Pakistan’s own startups, technology leadership and digital economy.
