Arslan Javed, the founder of Pakistani startups Graana and Musavir, had the unique opportunity to showcase his work to Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai.
Javed participated in the Dubai Future Foundation’s accelerator program, where Musavir, a generative AI firm, was one of the 30 startups selected for the initiative focused on the future of generative AI in media and communication. The Crown Prince, during his visit to the accelerator, was intrigued by Musavir’s culturally sensitive image generation capabilities, especially when compared to other platforms.
Javed explained the encounter, saying, “I generated an Emirati woman using another image generator, and it generated a very nice image, but it wasn’t as (culturally) appropriate as ours. He really liked that.” The Dubai Future Accelerators (DFA) program facilitates collaboration between startups, private entities, and the government to address pre-specified challenges and position Dubai as an attractive destination for startups.
Reflecting on the experience, Javed praised the DFA program, highlighting its comprehensive training and workshops, networking opportunities, and the facilitated in-house residency in Dubai. He emphasized the global reach of the program, with his cohort featuring companies from around 50 nationalities. Javed also commended Dubai’s commitment to supporting technology startups, considering it an inspiration for other regions.
Regarding the lessons Pakistan could learn from Dubai, Javed highlighted the need to make it easier for startups to operate, obtain bank accounts, and engage in online payments. He acknowledged Dubai’s efforts in this direction and hoped for similar developments in Pakistan, particularly mentioning the importance of facilitating online payments.
Musavir, the image generation platform developed by Javed’s team, creates high-resolution visuals suitable for advertising campaigns, billboards, and displays. The platform’s unique selling point lies in its focus on business-to-business (B2B) offerings, allowing brands to train the model based on their visual language for more personalized and brand-specific image generation.
Javed concluded by encouraging Pakistani startups to keep an eye on the Dubai Future Foundation’s accelerator program, as participation can provide substantial benefits. He also underscored the need for Pakistan to streamline processes for startups, especially in the realms of online payments and ease of business establishment.
Despite being headquartered in Dubai, Musavir remains focused on expanding its capabilities globally, with plans to cater to various markets, including South Asia and China, addressing regions often overlooked by major AI players.
