Legato Emerges From Stealth with $12M to Launch AI Hearing Glasses
Startup founded by veterans of Bose and Apple plans to introduce Legato Frames this fall, combining hearing assistance with conventional-looking eyewear.)
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A new hearing technology company called Legato has officially launched with $12 million in funding and plans to enter the growing market for hearing-enabled eyewear.
The Boston-based startup announced August 26 that it has raised backing from Neotribe Ventures, Listen, and Village Global and provided an initial look at its first product, Legato Frames. The company describes the product as the world’s first AI-powered hearing glasses and says it expects to begin selling them later this fall.
Rather than placing hearing technology in or behind the ears, Legato integrates its hearing-assistance system into the arms of a pair of eyeglass frames. The company says the approach is intended to combine hearing performance with a form factor consumers already use and may be more comfortable wearing.
Legato is targeting a persistent problem for the hearing care industry: although hearing loss is widespread, many people who could benefit from amplification do not use hearing aids. The company cites an estimated 50 million U.S. adults with hearing loss and says only about 20% of people with diagnosed hearing loss currently address it.
Mehul Trivedi, Legato CEO and co-founder in a news release.Traditional hearing aids have existed for 70 years, but the cost, discomfort, and stigma turn away so many people who could really benefit from them. We wanted to turn a hard-to-swallow medical device into a product people are actually excited to wear—and give millions of people with hearing loss a reason to finally get off the sidelines.
Making hearing technology more visible, not less
Legato’s approach represents something of a reversal from one of the hearing aid industry’s longstanding design priorities. Manufacturers have traditionally worked to make hearing devices smaller and less noticeable. Legato instead argues that integrating hearing technology into fashionable eyewear could make consumers more willing to adopt it.
“The hearing aid industry has spent decades optimizing for invisibility, making devices smaller so people won’t notice them,” said Kittu Kolluri, Founder and Managing Director at Neotribe Ventures. “Legato flips that logic. The path to adoption isn’t to make hearing assistance disappear—it’s to make it a style choice. For the millions of people beginning to experience hearing loss, Legato is the first solution that doesn’t ask them to accept a diminished identity.”
According to the company, its underlying technology is covered by four granted patents, with more than 20 additional patent applications pending. Legato says the system is designed to provide hearing performance comparable to traditional hearing aids while remaining contained within everyday-looking glasses.
The company has not yet provided detailed specifications for the hearing system or disclosed pricing. However, Legato says Frames will cost a fraction of the price of traditional hearing aids.
Another potentially notable aspect of the company’s strategy is its distribution model. Legato Frames are expected to be sold both online at Legato’s website and through selected eye care providers across the United States.
Legato also says Frames may often qualify for vision insurance coverage when purchased through an eye care clinic, potentially positioning the product differently from conventional prescription and over-the-counter hearing aids.
Hearing health meets eyewear
Legato was founded in 2024 by technology industry veterans with experience at Bose and Apple, according to the company. Its stated objective is to move hearing assistance away from the perception of a medical device and toward a consumer wearable that people actively want to use.
That positioning comes as hearing technology increasingly moves beyond conventional hearing aid form factors. Glasses, earbuds, and other consumer devices are increasingly being explored as ways to provide hearing assistance to people who may not be ready or willing to adopt traditional hearing aids.
Legato also points to the broader health consequences associated with untreated hearing loss. The company cites the 2024 Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention, Intervention, and Care, which identified hearing loss as an important potentially modifiable risk factor associated with dementia.
“Legato represents the best of where AI is headed: thoughtful design wrapped around cutting-edge technology, all to unlock fuller, more human experiences,” said Rick Desai, Managing Partner at Listen. “We couldn’t be prouder to partner with them as they reframe the hearing category.”
Legato says its Frames will become available later this fall in multiple styles, with additional product and availability details expected closer to launch.
HearingTracker has tested and updated readers on two previously released hearing glasses: Nuance Audio Glasses and Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2). We have also been reporting on live-captioning glasses, and view both categories as promising technologies that offer exceptional new benefits for people with hearing loss.
Karl Strom
Editor in ChiefKarl Strom is the editor-in-chief of HearingTracker. He was a founding editor of The Hearing Review and has covered the hearing aid industry for over 30 years.