Sayyed Ahmad Masud

Startups, Mentoring, Investing, and a Communication Strategist.

[Prof Akhtiar Ghumro PhD @ProfAkhtiar]

As 2026-27 federal government budget is going to be presented on 5th of June 2026.. FAPUASA Pakistan demands the government to reinstate the 75 percent tax rebate for university teachers and researchers.
#Reinstate75PercentTaxRebateForUniversityTewchersAndResearchers

[Sayyed Ahmad Masud @sayyed]

Today we celebrate Cursor, a story born in the corridors of MIT. It began with four students building a tool that is fundamentally changing how developers work—so much so that NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang noted that 100% of their software engineers and chip designers now use it.

While many in Pakistan are celebrating this news, the "naysayers" are asking the usual questions: What is Pakistan’s contribution? What chances does a founder have if they stay here? What are our incubation centers actually producing?

These are valid questions, but they miss the bigger picture. We should celebrate Cursor even if it didn’t have a Pakistani founder. Why? Because Cursor is a masterclass in "value gap identification". It is a story of resilience, of finding a friction point, and of creating so much value that it becomes indispensable. This is the universal language of every founder: Value. It is value that wins paying customers, excites investors, and builds products that sit ahead of the customer demand curve.

Obviously, there is a massive disparity in risk appetite. We cannot easily compare one of the largest investment pools in history to a developing economy that attracted only $74 million in startup funding over an entire year. But here is what the critics overlook: in the age of AI, the "geography tax" is evaporating.

In the old SaaS era, you needed massive capital to scale. In the AI era, five focused engineers in Lahore or Karachi can wield the same "superpowers" as a team in Silicon Valley. This is where our ecosystem comes in. Despite severe resource constraints, federal and provincial governments have invested meaningfully in building an "infrastructure for risk."

As someone who manages government-funded incubation centers, I see the difference daily. We aren't just "giving office space"; we are creating pathways for dreamers to bear the pain of building. Yes, many fail—that is the nature of business in any economy—but the number of successes is growing. These startups are creating meaningful impact in health, education, and governance. They may not be at the "Cursor scale", but they are battle-hardened.

Before the AI revolution, I believed a Pakistani Unicorn was at least five years away. Now? I believe that by identifying the right value gaps, we could see a billion-dollar valuation emerge from Pakistan as soon as late 2027 or early 2028. AI has flattened the playing field; our constraint is no longer just "funding," it is our ability to solve global problems from local seats.

But here is the part everyone must understand: it takes a village to raise a child. Developing an ecosystem that can support and scale founders is a collective responsibility. It is not about leaving the country or blaming the system; it is about playing a meaningful part in building it. We celebrate Cursor because it proves what is possible when you solve for value—and now, we have the tools to do the exact same thing right here.

#Cursor #SpaceX #AI @nic_islamabad

[Sayyed Ahmad Masud @sayyed]

@AslamChaudhry3 @SohailAshrafGor @CDAthecapital Many visits and many promises, especially over the last 5 years. Dark streets are a security risk especially for a sector that intersects with a major highway.

[Sayyed Ahmad Masud @sayyed]

@Bilalbinsaqib We did have one of the early cow collar companies from Pakistan more than a decade ago, COWLAR. Got into YV and also relocated to Chicago

[WikiLeaks @wikileaks]

President Truman in unearthed letter to Eleanor Roosevelt and separate note (both 1947) compares Zionists to Hitler & Stalin: “US Zionists will eventually prejudice everyone [against them]... Jews are like all under dogs - when they get on top they are just as intolerant and as cruel as the people were to them when they were underneath.”

[Waqas Ahmed @waqas03]

My advice to patwari friends: Do not clean their shit.

My advice to youthia friends: Let the shit hit their fan now.

Sharing IPP data. As an example, Hubco received 24 billion of payment with 0 generation. Thanks to @Gohar_Ejaz1 for data. You guys need to boycott BYD(Hubco investment) if you are pushed to net billing.

[Sayyed Ahmad Masud @sayyed]

In the 1990s, thanks to the massive planning failures of successive governments, the country hit an energy wall. To fix it, the government scrambled to onboard Independent Power Producers (IPPs) on an emergency basis. The catch? We signed deals at exorbitant prices, while other countries were locking in similar contracts for a fraction of the cost.

Once the "IPP game" started, everyone jumped in. Why wouldn't they? You had sovereign guarantees and a "Take-or-Pay" model—meaning we paid them for "capacity" even if they didn't produce a single unit of electricity. It was a bonanza like no other.

Because our "powers that be" are so incredibly hospitable with taxpayer money, IPP licenses were issued left, right, and center. This gave birth to the monster we now call Circular Debt. Every year, without fail, a massive chunk of our national loans is diverted just to fund this extravagance. Despite having a surplus of electricity, we kept handing out licenses. The result? Energy costs skyrocketed, our industries choked, and businesses either fled to neighboring countries or downgraded from manufacturing to simple assembly.

Fast forward 25 years. The sovereign guarantees for that first wave of IPPs (most of whom made their entire investment back in the first three years) finally started to expire. So, what did the government do? In the lead-up to 2025, they’ve been "renegotiating." They’ll tell you they’ve done us a massive favor with "better terms," but the question remains: If we have a surplus, why enter a fresh contract at all? Why not let these IPPs face the actual market? They’ve had their honeymoon; it’s time they stood on their own two feet.

The second part of this disaster is our energy mix. Unlike other countries, we moved away from our cheapest source—Hydel power—and doubled down on imported fossil fuels. It’s been a constant drain on our scarce foreign exchange reserves just to keep these plants running.

Now, with electricity bills becoming unbearable, the public is finally fighting back by shifting to solar. But fearing that the "slaves" might actually break free, NEPRA is trying to pull the plug on the benefits of solarization. They held a public hearing recently and lent a (mostly deaf) ear to our complaints. It makes you wonder: why wasn’t there a similar public hearing when these multi-billion dollar IPP contracts were being "renegotiated"?

This country has been held hostage to energy prices for too long. You can't build a strong economy solely on the back of loans and exorbitant taxation. It’s time to stop protecting the few at the expense of the many.

#nepra #netmetering #energycrisis #SolarEnergy

[Sayyed Ahmad Masud @sayyed]

@CDAthecapital, Islamabad seems to have access to some groundbreaking new research, demonstrating that trees have no place in modern society. As we continue to create an awe inspiring concrete jungle, CDA has vigorously attacked enemy number one, felling literally thousands of trees uselessly occupying land that can be used to build roads, housing colonies or concrete monuments. Following the true principles of equality, It doesn’t seem to be a limited operation targeting only paper mulberry trees as all trees are being cut down. Bravo CDA, good work!

[Sayyed Ahmad Masud @sayyed]

Just searched #zohranmamdani on twitter and the bias was so obvious though unbelievable. Less than 10% of the displayed posts showed a favourable or an unbiased point of view. Almost all posts were Islamophobic, anti immigrant or fear mongering against Zohran. The clear favourite polling in the 40’s. This is again a clear and malafide attempt to influence elections of somebody that scares MAGA.

[Sayyed Ahmad Masud @sayyed]

Weekend 2 minute experiment; shared the picture of a snail that I took a few days ago and asked Gemini VEO 3 the following "Rainy season and a snail is making its way slowly but suddenly it gets a jetpack and starts zooming and we can see Elon Musk enthusiastically clapping. The music is futuristic, the starting sounds are of the pattering of rain and soft music that turns into cheering and clapping crowds when the snail speeds up with techno rock music in the background". Not a very good prompt but interesting result. added @elonmusk because of SpaceX and the incredible future that he is building, so why not snails with jetpacks?

[Sayyed Ahmad Masud @sayyed]

@ravi3286 @KreatelyMedia And yet, just 2 days ago Moody upgraded Pakistan's economic rating.

[Sayyed Ahmad Masud @sayyed]

@KreatelyMedia Why 19, why not 1900? But Tom is pretty late to the party, You guys should have paid him earlier.

[Sayyed Ahmad Masud @sayyed]

If you are passionate to build a career in supporting the innovation economy, have strong communication and analytical skills, and are ready to take a responsible role in Pakistan's leading startup Incubator, this position is for you.

Experience is preferred but not necessary as we are looking for champions raring to contribute. You can read the detailed JD of the full time onsite Program Associate at NIC Islamabad in the post.

We are accepting applications till the 8th of August, so do send your CV with a cover note of why you are a good fit, to [email protected].

Please note this is an entry level job that can open a world of opportunities for the right candidate.

#programassociate #jobopportunity #Incubation #startupecosystem

https://t.co/RoBIcxs0RW

[Sayyed Ahmad Masud @sayyed]

Pakistan is leaving billions on the table.
Our university research is largely disconnected from the real-world needs of industry and society.

Every year, thousands of brilliant students complete Final Year Projects—yet most are academic exercises, repeated with minor tweaks, and rarely translated into market-ready solutions. At the same time, corporate and societal challenges remain unsolved.

This isn’t just about missed products and services. It’s a deeper issue of lost opportunity—to build strong, mutually beneficial bridges between academia and industry.

As traditional funding sources shrink, universities must begin to view commercialisation as a strategic revenue stream. Simultaneously, the private sector must recognize that collaborating with academia can unlock solutions, innovation, and future talent pipelines.

At a the inaugural spark series roundtable hosted at NIC Islamabad, we took a bold first step toward addressing this disconnect.

We brought together academia, industry, and policymakers for a strategic dialogue—capturing invaluable insights that are now being compiled into a comprehensive action report.

If you’re in higher education, corporate innovation, or policymaking: the time to build these linkages is now. Let’s align our ecosystems—for economic impact, for innovation, and for the future of Pakistan.

#PakistanInnovation #Commercialisation #UniversityResearch #IndustryAcademia #PakistaniStartups #TechTransfer

[Sayyed Ahmad Masud @sayyed]

Twitter gold: “when they say Indians took ALL our jobs, they mean Soham Parekh.”

[ekko astral @ekkoastral]

deerhoof is taking all their music off spotify

[Sayyed Ahmad Masud @sayyed]

@indumathi37 @brianmanning One has to wonder, the Hindutva philosophy has permeated the Indian psyche so thoroughly that instead of celebrating the primary win of an Indian citizen (the first south asian), Muslim phobia results in this unwarranted hate and twisting zohran’s quotes.

[Sayyed Ahmad Masud @sayyed]

@realDonaldTrump How about opening nominations for the Nobel War Prize or the Nobel Genocide Prize! We have outright winners.

[Sayyed Ahmad Masud @sayyed]

@aziz0nomics Yes bombing hospitals is a war crime, thank you for finally waking up to this reality, now please share the tweet where you condemned Israel for bombing the entire medical infrastructure in Gaza, so that we know you are truly a humane person who understands right and wrong.