Generative Search Startup ReachLLM Takes Podium Spot at Abu Dhabhi's Hub71
ReachLLM, a startup building diagnostics for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), secured second place at Abu Dhabi’s MZN x Hub71 Programme out of 370 applicants. The finish brings new financial backing and enterprise connections to the company, which helps brands track and influence how artificial intelligence models cite them in search results.
Led by 24-year-old Bangladeshi software engineer Sohazur Islam, the three-person startup addresses a structural change in web traffic. AI-generated summaries now directly answer user queries, pushing global zero-click searches to an estimated 69%. First-page Google rankings no longer guarantee brand visibility if conversational models exclude the company from their outputs.
Islam and his co-founders built ReachLLM after encountering this exact problem. Following their graduation from Zayed University in Dubai, the team launched a carbon-footprint API startup. They successfully ranked the company on Google's first page through traditional SEO, but noticed ChatGPT completely excluded their brand when queried for carbon accounting recommendations.
To solve this, Islam built an internal diagnostic tool to analyze how large language models retrieved their domain data. In late 2025, they published the tool on Product Hunt. It ranked in the top five products globally that day with zero marketing spend.
Following the launch, Islam and his co-founders relocated to San Francisco in January 2026 to incorporate the business. ReachLLM now splits operations between California and Dubai. Islam serves as CEO alongside Chief Product Officer Shanzila Ahmed and Chief Operating Officer Maryam Alabbar, an Emirati national whose involvement qualified the startup for the specialized MZN Hub71 track.
Islam’s path to San Francisco and Dubai began in a Bangla-medium school. Lacking development hardware at age 13, he learned programming through YouTube and online resources. To buy his first laptop, he played the mobile game Clash of Clans competitively, reaching a top-eight global rank and using the prize earnings to fund his equipment.
Unable to secure a US student visa despite university acceptances, Islam entered the workforce directly. At 18, global technology firm Crossover hired him as a software engineer. As the youngest hire in the company's history, he spent two years building large-scale software systems.
In 2021, Islam moved to Dubai on a full-ride scholarship to study artificial intelligence at Zayed University. He maintained a 3.99 GPA while working on nuclear power plant software systems and researching quantum computing. During this time, he also formed his current executive team by competing in and winning 15 global hackathons across the US and Middle East.
Today, ReachLLM converts LLM diagnostic data into deployable content changes for brands adjusting to conversational search. Reflecting on his transition from self-taught developer to startup CEO, Islam advises early-stage founders to focus strictly on user demands.
"Don't chase investors, chase the customers," Islam says. "If you focus on building traction and solving real user problems, business results will naturally attract funding."