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DevNation
Techstars '21Lahore, PK · 12 known investors
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Pakistani online tech accelerator training software developers with pay-after-employment income share agreements.
Also known as DevNation · The DevNation
Investors · 12
How we know: the Techstars portfolio · funding news · press coverage · open dataset · Top 3000 Accelerator Startups (no YC) 2026-08 · Not right? Tell us
How we know: research · techjuice.pk · Not right? Tell us
Also in the syndicate · 10
Company profile
researched Sep 2026DevNation is a Pakistan-focused education startup that trains under-skilled and under-educated candidates in digital technology skills and connects them with full-time employment. It runs an intensive computer science program delivered through live lectures by tech leaders and subject matter experts, positioned as an online tech accelerator aimed at the top tier of software developers in Pakistan. Coverage describes curriculum areas including front-end and web development and data science, with plans to expand into additional domains, and training sessions featuring content from large technology companies.
The company is listed in the e-learning and professional training and coaching industry, with locations given as Singapore, Lahore, Pakistan and Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan, and a headcount range of 11-50 employees. Its stated mission is to harness Pakistan's technical talent, position the country as a regional software engineering hub, and place graduates with startups across South East Asia, the Middle East and the United States. A longer-term goal reported in 2022 was to create one million software engineers in Pakistan by 2030.
Founding story
DevNation was established in 2021 by three entrepreneurs based in the United States and the UAE with technical backgrounds: NYU alumni Raheel Ahmad, Muddassar Sharif and Hamd Bilal Tahir. Raheel Ahmad had previously worked as a business analyst at Emerging Strategy and co-founded mltrons in Shanghai and explainX.ai in New York. Muddassar Sharif studied data science with a computer science minor at NYU, co-founded MARC&CO in 2015 and became CTO of mltrons in 2019. Hamd Bilal Tahir completed his undergraduate degree at NYU in 2018 and worked in data analyst and data science consulting roles before joining DevNation as co-founder and CTO.
Business model
DevNation delivers cohort-based technical training at zero upfront cost to students, using an income share agreement (ISA) model under which motivated candidates can opt to pay after they land a job. Scholarships are also offered to ambitious university students, and the program is open to applicants regardless of technical background.
Student payments are deferred under an income share agreement structure, with fees payable after a graduate secures employment rather than at enrollment.
Traction
Reported pre-seed funding totaling $176,000 across two 2021 rounds, a headcount range of 11-50 employees, and a stated goal of creating one million software engineers in Pakistan by 2030.
Latest developments
DevNation is listed on the Techstars job board as a pre-seed, 2021-founded e-learning company sized at 11-50 employees with operations in Singapore, Lahore and Rawalpindi.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
DevNation is presented as addressing a gap between Pakistan's university STEM curricula and industry requirements, an area where students otherwise rely on general online course platforms such as Coursera, Udemy and Codecademy.
Zero upfront cost enrollment with pay-after-placement terms, scholarships, live instruction by industry practitioners, and an explicit job-placement and mentorship component distinguish the program from self-paced online course catalogs.
Technology
Training is delivered online through live lectures and a modern computer science curriculum covering front-end and web development and data science, with real-world project work, instructor-led sessions and industry mentorship.
Go-to-market
The company recruits students directly for online cohorts, using free-to-start enrollment, scholarships and deferred payment to lower barriers, and positions job placement and mentorship as part of the offering. It also markets connections between Pakistani students and Silicon Valley practitioners.
Pakistani students and career changers seeking software engineering roles, including university students and candidates without formal technical backgrounds, as well as employers in Pakistan and abroad hiring trained developers.
Geography
Operations and listings span Singapore, Lahore and Rawalpindi in Punjab, Pakistan, with founders based in the United States and the UAE and stated ambitions to place graduates in South East Asia, the Middle East and the United States.
History
The company was founded in 2021. It closed a first pre-seed investment of $56,000 in July 2021, followed by a $120,000 pre-seed round led by CrossFund with a group of angel investors in October 2021, for a reported pre-seed total of $176,000. By 2022 it was described as an online tech accelerator for software developers in Pakistan, and it later appeared on the Techstars job board as a pre-seed company with 11-50 employees.
Compiled by commissioned research from 4 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 2
launches, deals, and filingsDevNation closed an angel/pre-seed round of $120,000 led by CrossFund with participation from a group of angel investors from the startup ecosystem; coverage described the raise as being on the higher end of a five-figure amount.
$120K source ↗
$56K source ↗
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 4
primary sources listed
4 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does DevNation do?
- Pakistani online tech accelerator training software developers with pay-after-employment income share agreements.
- Who are DevNation's investors?
- DevNation's investors include Techstars, CrossFund.
- Where is DevNation headquartered?
- DevNation is headquartered in Lahore, PK.