Pakistan explores sovereign AI Factory with DFINITY for government software

Pakistan is exploring plans to establish a sovereign AI Factory with DFINITY to develop production-ready software for government agencies, in a proposed collaboration involving the Pakistan Digital Authority’s cloud infrastructure.

Dr Sohail Munir, chairperson of the Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA), met DFINITY founder and chief scientist Dominic Williams and chief business officer Pierre Samaties for discussions on the proposed initiative.

The AI Factory would focus on government technology, public-sector applications and digital services, with software intended to run on the PDA Cloud Engine. The stated aim is to strengthen Pakistan’s digital infrastructure and expand its capacity to develop and deploy artificial intelligence systems for public use.

Williams confirmed the meeting in a post on X, saying discussions covered the next phases of the Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) Cloud Engine, Open SaaS and Open AI Factory technology rollouts. He also said he had taken part in podcast recordings in Dubai ahead of a keynote address at the Dubai AI Festival.

The meeting marks the second high-level engagement between the PDA and DFINITY this year, according to the announcement. An earlier meeting led to the signing of a memorandum of understanding, which established a basis for further cooperation.

The PDA also linked the collaboration to the United Nations Development Programme’s adoption of Pakistan’s sovereign Cloud Engines model, describing it as an international milestone for the country’s digital infrastructure ambitions. Further details about the scope of that adoption were not provided in the announcement.

The proposed AI Factory reflects Pakistan’s interest in developing technology under its own digital infrastructure, particularly for government services. However, details about the project’s timeline, funding, technical architecture and initial applications have yet to be disclosed.

The discussions indicate that the partnership is moving towards further planning, but it remains unclear when the AI Factory will become operational or which government departments would use the software first.