Hearing loss impacts 50 million adults in the United States, yet only 20% of those with a diagnosis seek treatment. Legato, a new hearing technology company, aims to close that gap.
Startup emerges with funding and glasses
The startup revealed its plans on Wednesday with $12 million in funding and a first look at its AI hearing glasses. The company told TechCrunch exclusively about the device. Legato Frames integrate the company’s patented hearing assistance technology into the arms of eyewear frames. Launch is expected later this fall.
Founders bring experience from major firms
Mehul Trivedi and Steve Romine founded Legato. Both bring extensive experience in wearables and hearing care from Bose, where Trivedi led the creation of Bose Frames and Romine ran the hearing aids division. Trivedi left Bose to work at EssilorLuxottica, where he led smart eyewear efforts and worked on the Meta Ray-Bans. Romine subsequently served as COO of hearing care company Audicus.
After years at larger companies, Trivedi took time off to explore the intersection of hearing technology and smart eyewear. During that period, he found technology he believed could unite the two fields. He contacted Romine, and the pair founded Legato in late 2024.
Trivedi on the goal
“Our goal is to make hearing as ubiquitous as vision,” Trivedi said in an interview with TechCrunch. “It’s kind of a no-brainer that you go to an eye exam, you get your glasses, you wear your glasses, and you’re happy, and you do that for the rest of your life — and the idea of it being blurry again where you would just stop wearing them is not a consideration. I think that’s what we want to do with hearing: just make it something that people address and almost forget about.”
Targeting mild to moderate loss
Legato targets people with mild to moderate hearing loss, which represents the largest segment of the hearing-loss population, the startup says.
Addressing cost and stigma
The company started with the goal of making hearing care more accessible by addressing the cost, comfort, and stigma associated with traditional hearing aids. Legato set out to make the glasses as small and lightweight as possible. The team developed a proprietary acoustic system, signal-processing stack, and mechanical architecture to achieve it.
Different approach to noise
Traditional hearing aids often use directional microphones to focus on sounds coming from a particular direction. This works well in quiet settings but can be difficult in noisy environments, such as restaurants. Legato takes a different approach by using an AI-powered system to differentiate between background noise and voices, amplifying only the voices.
The goal is to make conversations clearer without creating the cognitively draining listening experience that can come with some traditional hearing aids.
Design and usability
“We wanted to deliver an experience that was unique,” Trivedi said. “So a form factor that’s really discreet and looks normal. They’re meant to feel and look like regular glasses. And so, we want it to be a product that’s effortless, easy to use, with kind of no controls that you need to fiddle with, works everywhere, works throughout your day, doesn’t need a ton of configuration, and just delivers you better hearing.”
While the frames have an open-ear design, sound isn’t broadcast to people around you. They feature a dual-speaker system that directs sound toward the wearer while canceling sound that escapes. This reduces sound by 99% just a few inches away from the ear.
Funding sources
The company’s funding comes from Neotribe Ventures, Listen, and Village Global. The money has largely gone toward product development, along with marketing efforts.
Health benefits
“We have an opportunity to address a population with this product and build something that delivers without all the compromises of traditional hearing aids,” Trivedi said. “Hearing, at first glance, it’s not so much just like ‘I want to hear the TV better.’ It’s really about connection. When you hear better, you connect to the world. It reduces dementia risk and depression risk,” he continued.
“There’s impactful hearing health factors associated with better hearing. We’ve got a product that lives on people for 16 hours that is trusted to help them with their hearing and their vision, and we’d love to continue helping them in every way we can.”
Availability and price
When the frames launch later this year, Legato says they’ll be available through select eye-care providers nationwide. The price will cost a fraction of traditional hearing aids. They may be eligible for vision insurance when purchased through an eye-care clinic.
