Byonyks wins Pakistan final of Startup World Cup, earns San Francisco slot
The Lahore founded dialysis technology company beat eight other finalists at LUMS and will now pitch in Silicon Valley for a $1 million investment prize.
Byonyks, a medical technology startup that began in Lahore, has won the Pakistan national final of the Startup World Cup 2026 and will represent the country at the global final in San Francisco, according to a report in Daily Times published on 23 September.
The national final was held at the Suleman Dawood School of Business at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). Organisers had listed it for 16 September. It was run by Startup Grind Lahore and Transforming Hub, working with Pegasus Tech Ventures, the Silicon Valley investor that owns the Startup World Cup brand.
Daily Times said about 230 founders from across Pakistan took part. Startup Grind Lahore ran qualifying rounds in several cities, and the field was cut to nine finalists. The winner now goes to San Francisco to pitch to venture capital investors for a grand prize of $1 million in investment. The paper described Pegasus as backed by a $2 billion fund that has supported startups since 2015.
A home dialysis machine
Byonyks was founded in 2019 by Farrukh Usman, a LUMS alumnus, the report said. The company is developing home based peritoneal dialysis technology, which it presents as a more affordable and easier to use alternative to hospital hemodialysis for people with kidney failure. Daily Times described the company as venture backed. Byonyks says on its own website that it is working to change how dialysis is delivered in the United States.
The judging panel included Umair Javed, an angel investor and chief executive of TKXEL; Zeshan Qureshi of HRL and Capital Smart Innovations; Usman Sheikh, chairman of OZI Group; Ahsan Jamil, founder of sAi Venture Capital; Ramzan Sheikh of Alms Group; and Dr Sheharyar Shahid, an associate professor of entrepreneurship at LUMS. Shahid Ahmad Khan, Pakistan's Honorary Consul General, also sat on the panel.
Iftikhar Hussain, director of Startup Grind Lahore, said the partnership with Startup World Cup and Transforming Hub should open new routes to funding. He added that the team is arranging business meetings for the Pakistani delegation ahead of a trip to San Francisco in November.
The report did not name the other eight finalists. The global final result had not been published when this story was written.
Reported from Daily Times, the Startup Grind event listing and Byonyks company information.
