In a country where 42% of adults cannot read any language, Uplift AI is on a mission to bridge the digital divide through foundational Voice AI models for Pakistan’s five major languages. The company, incubated at Y Combinator, is developing speech recognition and generation technology that could transform access to education, banking, healthcare, and government services for millions.
Pakistan is the 5th most populous country with a GDP of $411 billion. Yet, until now, there have been no practical, high-quality voice models for its local languages — leaving vast segments of the population excluded from digital transformation.
The Breakthrough: Urdu Voice Models at Scale
In a landmark collaboration, Khan Academy has used Uplift AI’s Urdu voice models to localize its educational content.
- ✅ 104 Urdu-dubbed videos already published
- ✅ Thousands more in the pipeline
- ✅ Significantly lower production costs and faster turnaround compared to professional dubbing
Traditional AI voice solutions from major tech companies like Google, OpenAI, and ElevenLabs have struggled with the linguistic nuance and cultural context of Urdu. This resulted in costly and time-consuming localization. Uplift AI’s models, trained in-house with locally gathered data, cut dubbing time by 10x and make large-scale educational accessibility possible.
Technology with Local DNA
Uplift AI develops its entire technology stack in-house — from data collection to model training to deployment.
- ✅ APIs, SDKs, and web platforms for developers
- ✅ Speech understanding and generation optimized for Pakistani dialects
- ✅ Full-stack control for faster iteration and better accuracy
This approach ensures models reflect authentic local speech patterns, avoiding the robotic or mistranslated output common with generic AI systems.
Expanding Beyond Urdu
Following its Urdu success, Uplift AI is set to launch Balochi and Sindhi voice models in the coming weeks, with Pashto and Punjabi also in the works. This would make it the first company to cover all five major Pakistani languages with advanced AI voice solutions.
Founders with Global Experience
The founding team blends Silicon Valley expertise with a deep understanding of Pakistan’s linguistic and cultural landscape:
- ✅ Hammad Malik — CEO, ex-Apple Siri and Amazon Alexa, Cornell & LUMS alum
- ✅ Muhammad Bin Sabir — COO, founder of Alt Ventures, LUMS alum
- ✅ Zaid Qureshi — CTO, ex-AWS Bedrock & Amazon Supply Chain
Their previous work includes launching AWS services and building products used by millions daily.
A Mission to Uplift Nations
As CEO Hammad Malik explains, “Nearly a billion people worldwide can’t read. Text-based apps and websites don’t work for them. With voice, they can access knowledge and services for the first time.”
By tackling an overlooked but massive global problem, Uplift AI isn’t just building voice models — it’s building digital inclusion at scale. And with Y Combinator’s backing, its reach could extend far beyond Pakistan.