A profile of AI hearing aid startup Fortell, which has raised $150M so far and is targeting affluent clients in NYC with a $6,800 device that uses a custom chip
AI-powered startup Fortell has become a secret handshake for the privileged hearing-impaired crowd who swear by the product. X: @recurrented , @mikeisaac , @franklinleonard , @stevenlevy , and @moorehn LinkedIn: Emily Ziegler , Amin Mirzadegan , Matthew de Jonge , and Alexandra Krupp . Bluesky: @harmancipants . Forums: r/HearingAids X: Raye / @recurrented : happy people are working on more precise hearing aid tech. we're getting closer to my dream of controlling my hearing so i can turn off specific sounds (like a crying baby or something) Rat King / @mikeisaac : didnt use earplugs for years and am paying for it with tinnitus (not nearly as bad as some whose ears are shot, thankfully) this is an interesting application... Franklin Leonard / @franklinleonard : If anyone has the plug here, I would very much appreciate an introduction. Steven Levy / @stevenlevy : Even before launch these AI hearing aids have become the in-ear Birkin bag of the elite (of a certain age). Here's why. https://www.wired.com/... Heidi N. Moore / @moorehn : This is a very friendly piece, but it does explore what I mentioned before : not all AI is bad. AI can, and does, incredible things for accessibility like speech-to-text and hearing aids. In contrast, generative AI — which illegally and unethically scrapes and imitates human LinkedIn: Emily Ziegler : I didn't plan on taking another full-time role. — After years in high-growth startups, IPOs, acquisitions, and more Black Friday campaigns than I care to remember … Amin Mirzadegan : Huge congrats to the Fortell team on today's launch!! The years of grinding behind the scenes really show in how they've reimagined what hearing aids can be. … Matthew de Jonge : Today we unveil the Fortell AI Hearing Aids. They're available now by prescription at our audiology clinic in Manhattan. … Alexandra Krupp : Bursting with pride at the launch of Fortell and their incredible AI Hearing Aids. — The fact that I'm married to Cole Morris (a Fortell co-founder) … Bluesky: Reyhan Harmanci / @harmancipants : There's a hearing aid so elite that Bob Balaban — THE GOD — was worried he couldn't get one (he did, thank goodness) www.wired.com/story/hearin... Forums: r/HearingAids : Want This Hearing Aid? Well, Who Do You Know?
Context & Ripple Effects
Fortell enters a hearing-tech market already moving beyond conventional devices: app-based options were being positioned for milder hearing loss as rules opened the door to broader over-the-counter access, while Apple later won FDA approval for an over-the-counter hearing-aid feature for AirPods Pro 2.
Its prescription-only Manhattan clinic model and affluent positioning therefore represent a contrasting route to market: specialized, high-touch hardware rather than consumer-electronics scale. Earlier work on automatically amplifying the sound a wearer is trying to hear also shows why selective hearing assistance has become a broader product ambition.
First-order effects
- Fortell can use its $150M in funding to pursue a premium, clinic-based rollout of its $6,800 custom-chip device, initially focused on affluent New York clients.
- Patients seeking Fortell's product face a prescription and clinic-mediated purchase path, rather than the consumer channel associated with Apple’s hearing-aid software.
Second-order effects
- Established hearing-aid providers and consumer-tech entrants face a clearer contrast in positioning: match premium, specialized service or emphasize lower-friction access and broader distribution.
- Audiology clinics become an important gatekeeper for Fortell’s adoption, making clinician relationships and the in-clinic experience central to its ability to turn product interest into sales.
Third-order effects
- If premium AI hearing products gain sustained demand, the category could split more sharply between clinician-led, high-service devices and mass-market software features—an instance of the earlier shift toward app-based hearing devices.
- The durable question is whether custom hardware and clinical distribution create enough differentiated value to resist commoditization as hearing assistance spreads through mainstream consumer devices.
The trend: Hearing technology is converging with AI-enabled personal audio, but companies are pursuing sharply different paths through premium clinical hardware and mass-market consumer platforms.