Fortell raises $163M to reinvent hearing aids with AI
Original: How Fortell is using AI (and $163M) to crack a hearing aid monopoly
Why This Matters
A $163M bet on AI-powered hearing tech signals serious VC interest in challenging one of healthcare hardware's most entrenched oligopolies.
Fortell, an AI hearing aid startup founded by Matthew de Jonge, raised $163 million from Founders Fund, Thrive Capital, and Valor Equity Partners. The company aims to build hearing aids that intelligently filter ambient sound in real time, rather than amplifying everything indiscriminately — targeting a market where five companies control 97% of products.
Fortell founder Matthew de Jonge spent six years asking a simple question: why do people resist wearing hearing aids when no one resists wearing glasses? That friction, he argues, comes from how hearing aids work — they amplify everything, making noisy environments exhausting rather than manageable. Fortell's approach uses AI to analyze surrounding sounds in real time, identify what matters to the listener, and suppress the rest. The startup recently closed a $163 million funding round backed by Founders Fund, Thrive Capital, and Valor Equity Partners CEO Antonio Gracias. The hearing aid industry is notably concentrated: five companies manufacture 97% of devices globally, insurance coverage remains sparse, and meaningful innovation has been slow for decades. De Jonge detailed Fortell's strategy on TechCrunch's Equity podcast, hosted by Rebecca Bellan, explaining what it takes to break into an entrenched hardware market where incumbents have dominated for generations. No product launch timeline or pricing details were disclosed in the episode.