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In this episode of Thought Behind Things, we sit down with Ahmed Abubakar, Founder of Imagine Art – a Pakistan-built GenAI creative suite used by millions worldwide and competing for #1–#2 positions in global design app charts, right next to Canva. Today, Imagine does $30M+ ARR, with a major portion of revenue coming from the US and international markets – proving that world-class AI products can be built from Pakistan.
We Explore:
– Early life, education, and family sacrifices
– Building Imagine and scaling GenAI to millions
– Why Pakistani app & gaming industry is bigger than India’s
– Monetization, profitability & $30M ARR
– ESOPs, stock options & talent philosophy
– Future of AI models, creativity, disruption & user context mapping
– Moving to the US, global talent, and Pakistan’s role in 2050
A deeply inspiring conversation about resilience, humility, industry disruption, and how a Pakistani founder quietly built one of the world’s fastest-growing AI products.
#thoughtbehindthings #vryo #imagineart #muzamilhasan #pakistan #startup #tbtxendeavor
Socials:
TBT’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thoughtbehindthings/
TBT’s TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tbtbymuzamil
TBT’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thoughtbehindthings
TBT Clips: https://www.youtube.com/@tbtpodcastclips
Muzamil’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/muzamilhasan/
Muzamil’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/muzamilhasan/
Ahmed’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahmed-abubakar-9482127b/
Endeavor’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/endeavor-pakistan
Listen on:
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3z1cE7F
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3cgIkf
Google Podcasts: https://music.youtube.com/channel/UCAkPt3qoHX1Z8uS1_-0kmGA
Timestamps:
0:00 – Intro
4:25 – Muzamil’s Brother Generates AI Video with Imagine Art
8:40 – Early Life & Education
28:06 – College Struggles & Family Finances
38:50 – Making $50,000/Month for the First Time
43:00 – Growing Up, Hard Days & Family Responsibility
44:22 – Building the Imagine AI Model
48:03 – Muzamil Reflects on Ahmed’s Journey
52:35 – Education of Older Generation & Family Values
54:16 – Humility, Gratitude & People Who Helped
58:07 – Imagine Scale & New Features Coming
1:05:20 – State of AI & New Model Innovations
1:13:42 – Fundraising, Profitability & Cash Control
1:21:33 – Stock Options & ESOP for Talent
1:25:49 – Where AI Is Taking the World
1:32:50 – Chat with Disrupt.com Founders
1:35:20 – Creativity vs AI & The New Disruption
1:43:22 – Suno Experience & Making Music with AI
1:52:58 – Training on Diverse Datasets
2:01:16 – Context Mapping & Next Phase of AI Inputs
2:14:25 – Moving to the U.S. & Pakistani Talent
2:20:48 – Pakistan of 2050
2:25:45 – Closing Note
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