Rawalpindi:The National Incubation Center for Aerospace Technologies (NICAT), in partnership with Meta, the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, and Ignite National Technology Fund, hosted the first-ever Meta Llama Pitchathon in the Asia-Pacific region.
The groundbreaking event highlighted the tremendous potential of artificial intelligence (AI) through the application of Meta’s cutting-edge Llama 2 and Llama 3 models. The competition, which was opened on July 19, attracted 112 submissions, out of which 7 teams were shortlisted by the e27 and the Meta officials to pitch their ideas for the final round on August 13.
Traversaal.ai a team from San Francisco, USA, proposed UrduLlama, a large language model (LLM) specifically designed for the Urdu language was declared as winner, that will compete in the regional finals in Singapore in October 2024. The ‘UrduLlama’ aimed at combating educational inequality and illiteracy in Pakistan.
Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Minister of State (MoS) for IT and Telecommunicatio
n was the chief guest at the event. In her address, Shaza Fatima termed the Pitchathon as a testament to Pakistan’s growing capabilities in AI and technological innovation. She said that the government is dedicated to creating an environment that nurtures talent and encourages the development of cutting-edge solutions that address both local and global challenges.
“Events like these are crucial in our journey to position Pakistan as a leader in the global digital economy”, she said.
In his remarks, Simon Milner, Meta’s Vice President of Public Policy for the Asia-Pacific region, said that Meta is committed to supporting the AI ecosystem in this region.
“I am thrilled to see such diverse and impactful ideas emerging from Pakistan’s developer community”, he said adding that the Meta Llama Pitchathon in Pakistan sets a new precedent for innovation. Simon further said the competition would pave the way for the next wave of technological breakthroughs in Pakistan, and the broader region.
While thanking NICAT,
the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, and Ignite National Technology Fund for the collaboration, Simon said Meta Llama looks forward to continuing work with local partners to build better, safer, and faster products that benefit society by addressing real-world issues.
According to the details, a panel of judges comprising Muhammad Rashid Mukhtar, Dr. Muhammad Usman, Zeeshan Qedwaee, Ammar Jaffri, Barira Hanif, and Dr. Adnan-ul-Hasan evaluated each project based on technical feasibility, potential impact, and the responsible use of AI.
Besides the winner, the top three finalists that pitched today included Answer AI, and vResolv.
Simon Milner presented certificates to the top three finalists.
Earlier in his welcome address, Adeel Aijaz Shaikh, CEO of Ignite National Technology Fund said that the Meta Llama Pitchathon offers creators a unique chance to develop solutions with real business and community benefits.
“We look forward to seeing the remarkable projects that will come to life as a result of
this initiative”, he said.
Mohan Belani, CEO and Co-founder of e27 on the occasion said that the Meta Llama Pitchathon is an exciting platform for AI companies and developers to leverage the open-source power of Llama to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems.
Imran Jattala, Project Director at NICAT said that the Meta Llama Pitchathon is an unparalleled opportunity to create solutions with significant economic and social impact.
“We eagerly anticipate the groundbreaking projects that will emerge from this competition’, he said.