Paklaunch is hosting a session titled The KAUST Startup Playbook, scheduled for the twenty sixth of August, twenty twenty six, at ten in the evening Pakistan time, bringing Doctor Aamir Farooq, Professor at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and Director of its Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program, into conversation about deep tech, entrepreneurship, and innovation opportunities available through KAUST. The session will be held virtually via Zoom, giving participants across Pakistan direct access to Farooq’s insights regardless of location.
Farooq is expected to walk participants through TAQADAM, KAUST’s six month deep tech startup accelerator, which offers milestone based, zero equity grant funding alongside expert mentorship, access to a global network, and dedicated physical spaces for participating startups. The zero equity structure of TAQADAM’s funding model is particularly notable, giving founders access to capital without requiring them to give up ownership stakes in their companies, an approach that differs from more conventional accelerator and venture capital funding structures.
The session will be moderated by Ali Hasan Butt, Chief Operating Officer at Noodle Seed, who will lead the conversation and guide discussion around the opportunities, challenges, and pathways available to founders building at the intersection of technology and entrepreneurship. Butt’s role as moderator is expected to help translate Farooq’s academic and programme specific insights into practical guidance relevant to founders considering how KAUST’s resources might apply to their own ventures.
KAUST’s TAQADAM programme has continued to position itself as a resource for deep tech founders specifically, a category of startups that often requires more specialised technical infrastructure, longer development timelines, and larger capital requirements compared to conventional software or services based startups. By offering milestone based funding without requiring equity, KAUST’s accelerator model addresses a specific gap many deep tech founders face when seeking early stage support that does not immediately dilute their ownership.
Those interested in joining the session can do so through the Zoom link shared as part of the announcement at https://bit.ly/3DiJLuq, using Zoom ID 6692658358 and password paklaunch. The session is positioned as relevant for founders building deep tech startups, those exploring entrepreneurship more broadly, or anyone looking to understand how world class research conducted at institutions such as KAUST can translate into market ready ventures, continuing Paklaunch’s pattern of connecting Pakistani founders with international academic and startup support programmes.
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