Lahore (GNP): Google held Think Apps 2026 in Lahore, gathering leading Pakistani developers with global and regional industry figures and experts. Billed as the year’s largest app and gaming event for the industry, it centred on how AI can help Pakistani studios grow sustainably in international markets.
Pakistani app and gaming studios are reaching millions of users abroad. In the past 12 months, products made by local developers were downloaded 4.6 billion times worldwide. This growing presence, the organisers said, gives a solid base for increasing Pakistan’s digital exports, particularly as fast-moving AI advances open new chances for local developers to scale, innovate and compete.
Experts at the event presented practical AI tools, growth strategies and monetisation frameworks meant to help studios streamline production, deepen user engagement and reach high-value markets.
The industry, which began with fewer than 30 people, now employs more than 30,000 professionals, a sign of the depth of local talent building for global audiences. Studios such as Game District and Funsol were cited as examples of an ecosystem whose ambitions reach well beyond the domestic market.
Farhan Qureshi, Google’s Cluster Director for Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand and Frontier Markets, addressed the event. He said the worldwide impact of Pakistan’s developers reflects the talent and ambition of the local ecosystem. Google’s aim, he explained, is to equip developers with advanced AI so that studios can build high-value products with global appeal, grow their businesses sustainably and raise Pakistan’s standing in the global digital economy.
The opportunity arrives as growing competition and rising user acquisition costs make life harder for developers. AI can speed up coding, improve creative production and help build apps around emerging user needs, but success will still depend on pairing these tools with product quality and experiences that keep users engaged.
Google presented its Build, Yield and Scale roadmap to support studios at each stage. Google Cloud AI can assist product development, while Google Ads and AdMob help with user acquisition and monetisation. Moving into new categories and audiences offers further routes to international growth, and Google Play’s more than three billion monthly active users shows the size of the audience available.
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Google also pointed to its efforts to prepare future Pakistani developers. It has pledged to train 100,000 developers in AI by 2028 to support the next wave of apps and games, and plans local production of 500,000 Chromebooks to widen access to technology for digital education. Together with online safety training reaching 200,000 families through its Digital Pasban programme, these initiatives aim to build the skills, access and confidence young Pakistanis need to take part in the digital economy at home and abroad.
Sohail Majeed is a Special Correspondent at The Diplomatic Insight. He has twelve plus years of experience in journalism & reporting. He covers International Affairs, Diplomacy, UN, Sports, Climate Change, Economy, Technology, and Health.
