Google hosted Think Apps 2026 in Lahore, bringing together Pakistani developers and global and regional industry experts for what it described as the biggest app and gaming event of the year for the local industry, according to a report by Brandsynario. The event focused on how artificial intelligence (AI) can help Pakistani studios achieve sustainable growth on the world stage. Google said products built by Pakistani developers generated 4.6 billion downloads worldwide over the past 12 months, which it presented as a foundation for boosting the country’s digital exports. Experts at the event highlighted AI tools, growth strategies, and monetisation frameworks meant to help studios streamline production, improve user engagement, and reach high-value markets.
Google said the Pakistani app and gaming industry has grown from fewer than 30 people at its start to more than 30,000 professionals today, and it named Game District and Funsol as examples of studios whose reach extends well beyond the domestic market. Farhan Qureshi, Google Cluster Director for Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, and Frontier Markets, said the global impact of Pakistan’s developers reflects the talent and ambition of the local ecosystem. He said Google’s goal is to accelerate that momentum through AI capabilities, enabling studios to build high-value products that resonate globally, support sustainable business growth, and raise Pakistan’s position in the global digital economy. The figures on downloads and workforce size come from Google and were not independently verified in the report.
The company also pointed to the challenges facing developers, including rising competition and user acquisition costs. AI can speed up coding, improve creative production, and help developers build applications around new user needs, Google said, but success will depend on pairing these capabilities with product quality and experiences that keep users engaged. Through its Build, Yield and Scale roadmap, Google outlined support across the developer journey. Google Cloud AI can help studios develop products, while Google Ads and AdMob support user acquisition and monetisation, and expansion into new categories and audiences offers routes to international growth. Google Play, which it said reaches more than three billion monthly active users, gives developers access to an audience far larger than the home market.
Beyond the event itself, Google highlighted its commitments to Pakistan’s next generation of developers. It has pledged to train 100,000 developers in AI by 2028 to support the creation of next-generation apps and games, and it is also enabling the local production of 500,000 Chromebooks to broaden access to technology for digital education. The 500,000 figure matches the Chromebook scheme launched by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday, though the Brandsynario report does not describe how the two are linked. Google also said it has delivered online safety training to 200,000 families through its Digital Pasban programme. Together, it said, these efforts support the skills, access, and confidence young Pakistanis need to take part in the digital economy at home and abroad.
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