Inno Madness is down to its final two contenders. Which gets your vote?

Round 5 update: Our last round of Inno Madness is shaping up to be quite a battle, if Round 4 is anything to judge by.

The final two matches went the course of the week neck-and-neck and then exploded over the weekend into two lopsided victories. Congratulations to Zizo Technologies and Ognomy, who move on to the final round of Inno Madness! (And major kudos to CaHill Tech and Centivo, who made this round a nail-biter almost right up to the end.) Zizo and Ognomy won their matches with 61.7% and 65.4% of their respective votes.

Let's learn a little more about the final two candidates, and then you can cast your vote to determine which takes top honors.

Ognomy

Ognomy is a system for diagnosing and treating sleep apnea at home.

We last wrote about Ognomy in April 2022, when the company had just signed a partnership with a major player in its industry. "This is a big win for Ognomy," founder Dr. Daniel Rifin said at the time.

Here's how Ognomy courts new customers:

Join thousands of patients who receive their diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea remotely from the comfort of home, without ever stepping foot inside a doctor's office or sleep center. It’s easy, convenient, effective, and covered by all major insurances. Visit Ognomy, start your journey, and finally Say Goodnight to Sleep Apnea.

Zizo Technologies

Zizo Technologies is a business gamification platform for the customer service industry.

Sound familiar? This company might, since it won the inaugural Inno Madness.

Here's how Zizo describes what it does:

ZIZO revolutionizes employees' connection to their work by providing a fun, competitive platform. Through innovation and ingenious technology, ZIZO turns performance management upside down by providing a platform that collects vital performance data while developing a culture where your company and employees can thrive. We want to help your company create a culture where even the most minor task feels like a game.

Vote before Round 5 closes at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, April 2. Our champion will be announced Monday.

Round 4 update: We're in the home stretch for this year's Inno Madness, with just four companies remaining to compete for your (hypothetical) dollars.

CaHill Tech, which has developed a mobile training tool for companies and workers in the construction industry, now faces off against Zizo Technologies, a business gamification platform for the customer service industry. A year after becoming our inaugural Inno Madness winner, Zizo Technologies is making a strong run to again bring home the trophy. Can newcomer CaHill Tech stand strong?

In this week's other match, Ognomy — a system for diagnosing and treating sleep apnea at home — goes up against Centivo, which builds self-funded health-care plans for employers. Both companies have come further in the 2023 Inno Madness than last year, when Ognomy went out in the first round and Centivo in the third.

You know the deal. When it comes to these two matches, who's got your vote? Make your picks by 11:55 p.m. Sunday, March 26.

Round 3 update: We started our competition with 32 startups. Today, eight are left vying for your vote.

We asked: What startup would you put your money into? This round showed it was a tough question across the board, with every bracket finishing close. Some matches went right down to the wire — Memory Fox squeaked out a win over Lemma Labs by a mere two votes.

Help us take it down to the top four, Inno readers. Vote on Round 3 by 11:55 p.m. March 19. (And if you don't have your ticket to the Inno Fire Awards, happening April 6 at HANSA, get it today.)

Round 2 update: The biggest upset in Round 1 of Inno Madness this year saw a newcomer to our bracket-style challenge giving the boot to a company that made it all the way to the final round last year.

Lemma Labs, a consumer diagnostics company focused on health and beauty, drew 58.2% of the votes in the matchup against Mongoose, which develops software that helps colleges communicate with their stakeholder groups.

The closest match came between ShearShare (with 49.5% of the vote) and Ognomy (50.5% of the vote). Ognomy, which has built a platform and app to help manage sleep apnea, moves on to the second round.

Look through the bracket below to see the winners and the losers from the first round, then vote in the second round to help your picks advance. (Remember, we're looking for the companies that you would invest in!) Scroll to the bottom of the post if you need a refresher on any of the companies.

Round 2 ends at 11:55 p.m. March 12.

Welcome to Inno Madness, a friendly, bracket-style challenge where companies advance based on one question: Who would you invest in?

The 32-contender bracket is assembled based on editorial input from the Buffalo Inno team. All companies are based in or have significant operations out of Buffalo.

The goal of Inno Madness is to give a snapshot of some of the fastest-growing and most-promising tech companies in Buffalo. It is by no means a complete list of the city's best startups, but it is a good list of Buffalo tech companies you should know.

What does the champion win? Bragging rights, naturally, but we'll also be recognizing the winner in our 2023 Inno Fire awards.

First round voting begins today and continues through 11:59 p.m. March 5. We'll open up voting round by round, ultimately crowning an Inno Madness winner in our Beat newsletter April 5. (Not a regular reader? Sign up here for weekly updates as the competition progresses and to stay on top of all things Buffalo tech and startups.)

Scroll down to learn more about all of the companies in our bracket.

Meet the players