Launch NY, the University at Buffalo and Impellent Ventures are all supporting Ognomy in its current round.
A national, insurance-friendly, vertical sleep platform that handles the patient journey from soup to nuts.
There’s only one telemedicine company that fits that description: Buffalo-based Ognomy Sleep, founded by local sleep medicine specialist, Dr. Daniel Rifkin.
Today that company takes an important step forward. Ognomy is announcing a $20 million Series A funding round, led by venture capital firms Catalyst Investors (based in Manhattan) and Blue Heron Capital (Richmond, Virginia).
Local investors Launch NY, the University at Buffalo, Impellent Ventures, Excel and Upstate Biotech Ventures contributed to the round.
It’s one of the biggest rounds of startup funding in Buffalo in the past several years, and will fuel a substantial growth push that spans sales, marketing, operations and engineering.
“The model works and there is proven demand for it,” Rifkin said. “Our investors recognize that, and now we’re trying to scale something that’s already proven its value in the marketplace.”
Founded in 2021, Ognomy’s platform breaks down the physical barriers to sleep apnea care, a longtime passion for Rifkin. The company has now reached operating scale in all 50 U.S. states and completed more than 85,000 virtual visits. Its revenue is growing 200% each year, and most of its 27 employees are based out of Buffalo. That team is expected to grow substantially with the support of the Series A funding.
Ognomy has received important market validation from partners such as Eli Lilly Direct and Zepbound. Ognomy was recently recognized as the 2026 MedTech Breakthrough Award for “Best Overall SleepTech Solution.”
“With sleep health increasingly recognized as a critical component of chronic disease management, we believe Ognomy's strong clinical foundation and track record of improving patient outcomes position the company to become the category leader,” said Kapil Desai, for Catalyst Investors, who is joining Ognomy’s board of directors.
Check out Ognomy investor Rohit Gupta on the Series B podcast: Why the Valley is looking at Buffalo
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