A Pakistani student in the United States has launched Qalb, the world’s largest artificial intelligence model built exclusively for Urdu, promising to bring advanced AI tools to millions of Urdu speakers who have long been underserved by existing technologies.
The model, named Qalb, is described as an “Urdu-first” large language model, developed at a time when most generative AI systems are predominantly trained on English and other widely used languages. Experts say language-specific AI can improve accuracy, cultural relevance, and usability across education, business, and public services.
Urdu, spoken by more than 230 million people globally, including in Pakistan, India, and diaspora communities, has been largely underrepresented in modern AI systems. Localizing AI for such widely spoken yet under-served languages is increasingly seen as vital for broadening participation in digital economies, particularly in developing countries.
According to Taimoor Hassan, Qalb’s creator, the model is now the world’s largest AI system built exclusively for Urdu. “Trained on nearly two billion tokens and evaluated across more than seven international benchmarks, Qalb outperforms existing Urdu-focused AI models on key real-world indicators,” Hassan said. “The next phase includes launching mobile and web apps so users can directly interact with Qalb like ChatGPT.”
Hassan, an undergraduate computer science graduate from FAAST University in Peshawar, is currently pursuing a master’s in computer science and software engineering at Auburn University, US. A serial entrepreneur, he has previously launched and exited multiple startups and has represented Pakistan at international technology forums.
