COLABS

COLABS was founded by Omar Shah and Ali Shah, twin brothers, in 2019.^[7] This SABCON-led initiative was initially funded by Bangerhead, a Swedish e-commerce company.^[8][1] COLABS first opened a shared co-office space at Lahore Gulberg-II, 50-N Gurumangat Road with 40 offices later used by several tech companies including Uber.^[9][10]

During Covid-19, COLABS opened their office space in Islamabad accommodating 300 individuals. During this time, business for offline and online co-working spaces increased.^[11]

In January 2022, COLABS was given a zone enterprise license by STZA.^[12] Later that year, COLABS raised $3 million in seed funding led by Indus Valley Capital, Zayn Capital, and Fatima Gobi Ventures.^[13][14] The funding was joined by Shorooq Partners, Kinnow Capital, Muir Capital, Sai Ventures, and angel investors including Turner Novak and William Hockey.^[15][16]

In 2024, the company raised an additional $2 million in a pre-Series A round, led by Shorooq Partners with participation from Saudi-based Waad Investment,^[17] bringing its total venture capital funding to over $5 million.^[18][19]

COLABS manages over 10 locations in Pakistan, accommodating more than 5,000 members and collaborating with over 250 local and international partners, including Spotify, Google Cloud, EY, Endeavour, and Coca-Cola.

In March 2025, the company announced a partnership with DigitalOcean to open a headquarter location in Karachi at Shahrah-e-Faisal.^[20] Later that year, in October, COLABS announced it's expansion to Saudi Arabia, opening first co-working space in Riyadh.^[21][2] Expansion into markets, including Saudi Arabia was supported by Waseel Investments, Shorooq Partners and Waad VC.^[22]

In addition to providing a space, it also hosts workshops, volunteer opportunities, community building and public events.^[23][24][25]

COLABS has 4 offices in Lahore location and their biggest office space is in Lahore Gulberg II.