Investment: “Fortell raises $163M”
Fortell is an AI hearing aid startup that builds devices designed to understand the sounds around a wearer in real time and amplify what’s important rather than simply turning everything up. The company recently raised $163 million.
Investors in the round include Founders Fund, Thrive Capital and Valor Equity Partners CEO Antonio Gracias.
Fortell was co-founded by Matthew de Jonge, who serves as CEO; he spent six years building the company. The startup’s technology aims to identify and prioritize relevant sounds in a user’s environment and reduce background noise, a different approach from most existing hearing aids that primarily amplify all sounds.
The funding comes as Fortell seeks to take on a hearing-aid market dominated by a handful of incumbent companies, where insurance coverage is limited and innovation has been relatively slow to arrive.
“Why do I have to beg my grandparents to put on their hearing aids, but no one has ever needed to ask me to put on my glasses?”
