Pierre Samaties outlines DFINITY’s next phase of UNDP cooperation

DFINITY Chief Business Officer Pierre Samaties has outlined how the foundation plans to build on its work in Pakistan as it expands cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with a focus on applying Internet Computer technology to development and governance.

Speaking about the cooperation, Samaties highlighted three areas of technology being deployed through the partnership: Cloud Engine technology, Caffeine AI and AIware through the OpenSaaS model.

The focus, he explained, is on taking technology that has already been put into practice and applying the lessons from those deployments to other countries, organisations and government settings.

Pakistan is an important part of that approach. DFINITY’s previous work there has provided an opportunity to test how its technology can be used in a national environment, including applications involving sovereign cloud infrastructure and AI-assisted software development.

Samaties said the experience gained through that work can now serve as a playbook for expanding the use of the technology beyond Pakistan.

The UNDP cooperation will look at deployments across UNDP operations, civil society organisations and other governments. Rather than treating the technology as a standalone product, the work is centred on practical applications and how digital infrastructure and AI can support specific development and governance requirements.

Cloud Engine technology is designed to provide infrastructure for applications, while Caffeine AI allows users to create software using natural-language instructions. AIware, through OpenSaaS, is aimed at enabling organisations to use AI-powered software in their own operational environments.

For Samaties, the value of the cooperation lies in connecting those technologies with real-world institutional needs. The Pakistan experience gives DFINITY a reference point for understanding what works in practice and what needs to be adapted when moving into different environments.

The approach also reflects a wider discussion around how governments and development organisations can use AI while retaining greater control over data, infrastructure and the systems supporting public services.

The UNDP cooperation therefore creates a framework for testing how DFINITY’s technology can be applied across different settings, while using lessons from earlier deployments to guide future implementations.

Samaties’ comments put the emphasis on deployment rather than technology for its own sake. The next phase will be about seeing how the tools perform across different organisations and countries, and whether the lessons from Pakistan can translate into practical outcomes elsewhere.