Karachi AI - Meetup # 25 : Startups Scaled with AI (Talks + Pitchathon)
- Mesum Raza
- 23 hours ago
- 7 min read
Press Release By: Mesum Raza Hemani (Founder)
Dated: Sunday, 17th Jan 2026
Location: iRoots College, Darul Aman Society, Shahra e Faisal, Karachi
The Karachi AI Silver Jubilee Meetup, This time for the 25th Quarterly Meetup of Karachi.AI, we focus on helping AI practitioners, Startup Founders, and Gen AI enthusiasts and entrepreneurs who want to build a Startup that Scales around GenAI Lifecycle.
Held at iRoots College, Shahra e Faisal, Karachi, the event served as an engaging platform for networking and knowledge exchange among like-minded professionals.
The meetup began with an address from our Event Host, Mr. Adeel Sohail. His enthusiasm sparked smiles on the participants' faces, setting a positive tone for the event.
Opening Note Principal iRoots College
The meetup proceeded with a hosts welcoming keynote by Mr. Farrukh Adeel. Igniting the need to learning AI in the participants and how iRoots College is developing initiatives around it to reinvent the curriculum.
Introduction to Karachi AI and Community Vision
Following the opening, Mr. Mesum Raza Hemani, Founder of Karachi AI, introduced the initiative. Karachi AI operates as an independent chapter of the former global parent City.AI organization. Their mission focuses on increasing local AI education, empowering startups, and raising awareness about AI's real-world applications.
Mr. Hemani also shared an introduction of new Generative AI Specialization Launching soon from Karachi AI, with Executive, Developer and Creator Tracks. Learn More Here
Their goals center around empowerment, awareness, and engagement. They aim to help Pakistan harness AI's potential for a promising future.
This time for the Silver Jubilee Meetup the Event was Divided into First and Second Phase represented by Applied AI Talks and followed by Pitchathon respectively.
Session 1 :
Founders in GenAI Lifecyle Service / Products
1. Data Layer : Synthetic Data, Data Vaults and Private RAG
Speaker: Mr. Muhammad Hammad – Founding Engineer Allia Health
He shared grounded, real-world insights on why data is still the hardest and most valuable layer in applied AI. Moving beyond hype-driven “vibe coding,” he emphasized building reliable data pipelines that make GenAI systems usable in high-stakes environments like healthcare.
Key Takeaways:
Why quality, structure, and provenance of data define AI outcomes
Designing RAG and multi-stage LLM workflows for real-world use cases
Turning applied GenAI skills into long-term, monetizable engineering impact
2. The Model Layer : Finetuning AI (Audio / Text / Video)
Speaker: Mr. Fahad Maqsood – Founder, Flis Technologies
He walked through the power of fine-tuning and localization, showing how models become truly valuable when adapted to regional languages, accents, and contexts. His journey building Sindhi STT and TTS models highlighted how underserved markets unlock massive AI opportunities.
Key Takeaways:
When and why fine-tuning beats generic foundation models
Building voice and language AI for regional impact
Monetizing localized AI solutions through services and products
Applied AI QnA Session
Audience were served with Mic to ask follow-up Questions for the speakers of Talk 1 & 2. AI clinic was held, providing a two-way interaction between participants and experts during a Q&A session.
Industry experts and entrepreneurs shared actionable strategies for building sustainable Startups with in Gen AI Lifeycle creating solutions that add measurable value to businesses.
After the QnA, Audience were asked two specific Questions from Slides of Talk 1 & 2 Speakers and those who answered it correct with honored with pen souvenir from Karachi AI.
3. The Integration Layer : Connecting LLMs w. Agents, MCPs & APIs
Speaker: Mr. Saad Zafar – Founding Engineer, Noodle Seed
He unpacked the fast-emerging integration layer of AI, where LLMs meet real-world systems through APIs, MCPs, and agent ecosystems. Drawing from his experience at Beam AI and Noodle Seed, he showed how integrations unlock scale, composability, and monetization.
Key Takeaways:
Why integrations are the backbone of agentic AI systems
Designing LLM-to-API schemas and MCP-style interfaces
Building AI products that thrive in agent marketplaces
4. The Safety Layer : Guardrails, Evals and Output Tracing
Speaker: Mr. Fahad Ghouri – Founder & CEO, DecentraSec
He delivered a deep dive into AI safety, performance, and trust, explaining why guardrails and evaluation frameworks are now non-negotiable for production AI systems. His talk bridged security, scalability, and responsible AI deployment.
Key Takeaways:
Why unsafe AI is a business risk, not just a technical flaw
Designing guardrails, evals, and monitoring for LLM systems
Opportunities in AI safety consulting and tooling
Applied AI QnA Session
Audience were served with Mic to ask follow-up Questions for the speakers of Talk 3 & 4. AI clinic was held, providing a two-way interaction between participants and experts during a Q&A session.
Attendees will heard from leaders who have successfully navigated this journey, learning how they identified Integration Gaps and Security Pitfalls to offer Products that can help Business Grow sustainably on Gen AI Stack.
After the QnA, Audience were asked two specific Questions from Slides of Talk 1 & 2 Speakers and those who answered it correct with honored with Mug souvenir from Karachi AI.
Session 2:
GenAI AI Lifecycle Products & Services Pitchathon
The Last segment was the ultimate showdown of startup Founders contesting to be the winner of Karachi AI's first GenAI Pitchathon at the special silver Jubilee Edition.
Hosted by Mr. Anas Naveed
Judging Partners and Panel of Judges
Bringing Incubation, Intelligence & Funds
Mr. Syed Azfar Hussain — National Incubation Center, Karachi
Mr. Faizan Laghari — Startup Syndicate & Qaflah
Mr. Malik Ahmad Jalal — Cordoba Ventures
Their combined expertise offered founders critical feedback, strategic direction, and real-world investor perspective.
🚀 Super Founders Competing in AI
Introducing bold builders competing to win the prestigious Karachi AI Pitchathon title:
Mr. Saad Tariq — Founder, Cervana AI
Mr. Muslim Bin Aqeel — Founder, Auto Data Insight
Mr. Hadi Haider — Founder, Cloud NOOE
Mr. Ibad ur Rehman — Founder, MovieLyzer
Mr. Saad Raza — Founder, Agentra X
Each startup showcased how Applied AI & GenAI can solve real problems, scale businesses, and create impact.
Mr. Anas NaveedKeeping the energy high, conversations sharp, and pitches on point. Karachi AI Pitchathon wasn’t just a competition — it was a launchpad for Pakistan’s next generation of AI-first startups.
Winner of Karachi AI Pitchathon : Mr . Saad Tariq (Founder Cervana AI)
Closing Remarks by Silver Sponsor
To celebrate the Silver Jubilee Quaterly Meetup Milestone Karachi AI Celebrated a ceremonial Cake Cutting alongside Speakers, Guests, Regular Community Members who participate at events, and Alumni
Mementos Distribution
Before the event conclusion, Shields were awarded to Speakers, Pitchathon Winners and Runnerups and Valued Guests who joined the event.
Before Signing Off Participant were involved for :
Community Engagement: Participants were encouraged to join Karachi AI's social platforms on Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube for updates and resources.
Karachi AI plans quarterly meetups, with the next one scheduled for Apr 2026, focusing on the latest trends in AI and expert experiences.
Group Picture : Participants were encouraged to join Karachi AI's social platforms on Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube for updates and resources.
Certificates: The event closed with refreshments and informal networking as participants exchanged ideas, contacts, and possibilities for future collaborations.
Networking: The event closed with refreshments and informal networking as participants exchanged ideas, contacts, and possibilities for future collaborations.
A Note of Gratitude
Karachi AI - Community of Applied AI Practitioners is thankful to its partners for making it memorable, supported and successful. A tribute for Ops Team who worked hard for Karachi AI Meetup # 25 : Startups Scaled with AI.
Collaboration Makes it Happen!
Thanks to our partners Specially iRoots College, NIC Karachi, Startup Syndicate & Cordoba Ventures & other Outreach Partners such Agile Pakistan, GDG Kolachi and Societies, MLSA, ACM and IEEE Chapter accross Khi, who enabled us with Support, Logistics, Outreach, Media and Admin of this successful meetup. Please tag them on socials when you make a post about event.
Venue Sponsor
About iRoots College:
iRoots College is an intermediate-level educational institution. The college aims to provide a "future-focused" education that integrates modern academic standards with moral and spiritual values.
Notable Outreach Partners
Thanks to Google Developers Group on Campus UIT University, Google Developer Groups On Campus - SMIU, Google Developer Groups on Campus (GDGoC), SZABIST University, Karachi, GDG on Campus - MAJU, Google Developer Group on Campus JUW, Google Developer Groups on Campus - UoK, Google Developer Groups (GDG) - SSUET, Google Developer Group on Campus - NEDUET, Google Developer Groups on Campus - IBA, Developers Student Club Hamdard University-Karachi, ACM AI FAST NUCES Karachi Chapter, KSBL ACM Student Chapter, ACM MAJU Student Chapter, ACM, Association for Computing Machinery SZABIST Karachi, Microsoft Learn Student Community - MAJU, MLSA FAST NUCES Karachi Chapter, Microsoft Learn Student Ambassadors -University of Karachi, IEEE_SSUET_WIE, IEEE SSUET STUDENT BRANCH, IBA Computer Science Society
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About Karachi AI is a chapter of City.AI, part of a global community devoted to Applied Artificial Intelligence practitioners. They operate across six continents in 63 cities. For more details, visit our website.
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