Five NIC Lahore Startups Join Silicon Valley Accelerator
Five innovative startups from the National Incubation Center (NIC) Lahore have secured a place in Silicon Valley’s prestigious Plug and Play Fall 2026 accelerator program. The startups—Entropy & Co., Heyeve, Hsieh AI, Recruit AI, and elevAID—are working on cutting-edge solutions in AI automation, legal tech, recruitment, and healthcare sectors.
NIC Lahore Startups Expand Global Reach
This achievement marks the second time startups from NIC Lahore have participated in the Silicon Valley accelerator, following four startups that joined the Global Overseas Acceleration & Learning (GOAL) program in June 2025. Additionally, Blainy, another Pakistani AI startup, earned a spot in Plug and Play earlier in May 2026, highlighting growing recognition of the country’s tech innovation.
Plug and Play selected 140 startups from 20 countries for this fall’s cohort, with a majority—55%—coming from outside the United States. The program spans three months and concludes with a summit in Silicon Valley scheduled from November 3 to 5. Notably, Plug and Play does not take equity stakes from participating startups, allowing founders to retain full ownership. Its large network features over 565 Fortune 1000 corporate partners and alumni funding raised exceeding $9 billion.
Support from Pakistani Tech Ecosystem
The five NIC Lahore startups are supported by Pakistan’s Ministry of IT and Telecom, Ignite, and the Pakistan Startup Fund. NIC Lahore operates under a NETSOL Technologies-led consortium, which includes partnerships with HBL, Daftarkhwan, Beaconhouse National University, and UET Lahore. Each startup participating in the accelerator has also received Rs. 5 million in funding from Ignite, underscoring significant public sector investment in scaling Pakistani innovation globally.
In line with this momentum, a recent collaboration was formalized in July 2026 when Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal signed a Letter of Intent with Plug and Play founder Saeed Amidi. Their agreement aims to accelerate up to 300 startups emerging from Pakistani universities while establishing Plug and Play offices in Islamabad and Karachi to foster local innovation hubs.
Significance for Pakistan’s Startup Environment
These developments represent a crucial step for Pakistan’s technology sector, particularly in nurturing AI and digital startups and providing them with international exposure. Ayub Ghauri, president of NIC Lahore, described the opportunity not just as financial support but as “belief and empowerment” for Pakistani entrepreneurs. Ignite CEO Adeel Aijaz Shaikh called this pipeline “a proud moment for us all,” reflecting national pride in the rising global stature of Pakistani startups.
For Pakistan’s growing community of entrepreneurs, joining a platform like Plug and Play enables access to mentorship, global markets, and corporate partnerships, which are vital for scaling innovations internationally. This also signals increased confidence in Pakistan’s tech potential and contributes to positioning the country as a burgeoning startup hub in South Asia.
