Pakistani Startup RLabs Wins Award in Silicon Valley
Pakistani startup RLabs has won the best startup award at the Silicon Valley November Summit in California. The government of Pakistan has welcomed the achievement, calling it a sign of the country's growing startup ecosystem.
About RLabs and the Award
RLabs is incubated at the National Incubation Centre for Aerospace Technologies (Nicat). It is led by Harris Ahmed. The startup won the 'GOAL Startup Award' at the summit.
The event took place from November 2 to November 5. It was organized by Plug and Play, an innovation platform and venture capital firm.
Global Competition at the Summit
RLabs was one of 18 startups from around the world selected to pitch their ideas at the summit. The pitch opportunity was part of Plug and Play's Global Overseas Acceleration and Learning (GOAL) programme.
Harris Ahmed Shares Experience
Harris Ahmed said he got the chance to present RLabs' work on extended reality (XR) simulators, synthetic data, and machine training. The platform brought together more than 3,000 attendees, including founders, venture capitalists, corporate executives, innovation leaders, and government partners.
Ahmed wrote on LinkedIn that he shared a photo of himself posing with the award.
Founder's Background
Ahmed is a 2018 graduate of the National University of Sciences and Technology (Nust), according to his profile. He said he spent the last decade teaching humans how to operate complex machines in XR.
He added, "Now we use the same human experience to train machine instincts. (Launching in the US soon)."
Summit Focus on AI and Deep Tech
Ahmed noted that the summit focused on artificial intelligence (AI) and deep tech. It featured live demonstrations and pitches from more than 300 startups across more than 20 industry programmes.
RLabs Technology
According to Nicat, RLabs has been training a proprietary Large Language Model. The model will power a modular, cross-platform simulation engine that reduces development time by 75 per cent.
Government Reaction
IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja issued a statement, also shared on the government's official X account. She wrote, "From Pakistan to Silicon Valley — a proud moment for our nation!"
She called the achievement a "moment of immense pride" for her ministry and Ignite, the tech innovation arm. She said it reflects the extraordinary potential of Pakistani talent and the growing strength of the startup ecosystem.
"Seeing our homegrown startups earn international recognition reinforces our commitment to nurturing innovation, creating global opportunities, and empowering the next generation of Pakistani entrepreneurs," the minister said.
She reaffirmed the government's vision: "Pakistani startups should not just compete globally, but help shape the future of technology."
The statement added, "Congratulations to Harris Ahmed and the entire RLabs team for making Pakistan proud. May this be one of many more success stories that take our green flag to new heights!"
Other Pakistan Tech News
On October 10, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formally inaugurated the newly renamed Daanish IT Park, also called National Technology Park. He called it the country's first national technology facility and a crucial milestone for Pakistan's rapid economic progress and prosperity.
He said the modern facility brings incubation centres, innovation hubs, small and medium enterprises, startups, and industry leaders together under one roof.
The World Bank, under the "Pakistan Entrepreneurship and Private Investment Catalyst Project," is expected to be approved by its executive board in early 2027. It would help the government establish and capitalize a 50 million dollar Fund of Funds to support Pakistan's new innovation and venture capital ecosystem.
Earlier this year, the co-founders of Singapore-based Plouton AI secured a place in the finance and venture capital category of the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list. The venture was co-founded by Muhammad Furqan Karim Kidwai and Sarfraz Shahid Hussain. It was described as an agentic automation platform that helps midmarket companies automate finance workflows.
Source: dawn