Pakistani Startup RLabs Wins Silicon Valley GOAL Startup Award
RLabs, a Pakistani startup led by NUST graduate Harris Ahmed, won the GOAL Startup Award at the Silicon Valley November Summit in California. The company builds simulation and AI training tools and says it is preparing to launch in the United States.
Pakistani startup RLabs wins the GOAL Startup Award at the Silicon Valley November Summit in California, according to reports published on November 8, 2026. The company builds simulation and artificial intelligence training tools.
RLabs is led by Harris Ahmed, who graduated in 2018 from the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) in Islamabad. Ahmed has said the company is preparing to launch in the United States.
The event and the award
Plug and Play, a global innovation platform and venture capital firm, organized the summit. It drew more than 3,000 participants, including entrepreneurs, investors, corporate executives and technology leaders.
RLabs was one of 18 startups chosen from around the world to pitch under Plug and Play's Global Overseas Acceleration & Learning (GOAL) programme. Ahmed said more than 300 startups took part across over 20 industry programmes, with a heavy focus on AI and deep technology.
He called the chance to present to an international audience of investors, founders and corporate leaders an important milestone.
What RLabs builds
RLabs specializes in extended reality (XR) simulators, synthetic data and machine training. XR covers virtual and augmented reality. These tools are increasingly used to train both people and AI systems to operate complex equipment.
Ahmed said he spent the past decade developing XR technology to teach people to run sophisticated machinery. His company now applies that experience to intelligent machines.
"Now we use the same human experience to train machine instincts," Ahmed wrote on LinkedIn.
RLabs was incubated at the National Incubation Centre for Aerospace Technologies (NICAT), which supports emerging technology businesses in Pakistan. NICAT says RLabs has been developing a proprietary large language model to power a modular, cross-platform simulation engine.
The centre says the technology could cut simulation development time by as much as 75 per cent.
Government reaction
Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Pakistan's Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, congratulated the startup. In a statement shared through official government channels, she said: "From Pakistan to Silicon Valley — a proud moment for our nation!"
She said the recognition reflected the potential of Pakistani talent and the growing strength of the country's startup ecosystem.
The win comes as AI, automation and advanced simulation technologies attract growing investment worldwide. Ahmed's LinkedIn announcement said RLabs is now preparing to enter the US market.
