How Fortell is using AI (and $163M) to crack a hearing aid monopoly
$163M. That's what Fortell just raised to take on the hearing aid duopoly with AI-native devices.
Why it matters
A well-funded startup is using AI to remake a stagnant, monopolized consumer health category—signaling where venture capital sees AI's next wedge into everyday life beyond software.
The key facts
10 to know$163M Series B raised by Fortell
Investors: Founders Fund, Thrive Capital, Valor Equity
Founder: Matthew de Jonge (6 years building)
Category: AI hearing aids targeting a monopoly market
Framing: AI as the differentiator in a consumer health device
$163M Series B funding round
Company: Fortell (AI hearing aid startup)
Founder: Matthew de Jonge (6 years in development)
Market problem: Low adoption of hearing aids vs. eyeglasses despite comparable hearing loss prevalence
AI application: Personalized audio processing, likely adaptive noise cancellation and user preference learning
Go to the source
TechCrunch Startupstechcrunch.com
Publisher excerpt: “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?” That’s the question that drove Matthew de Jonge to spend six years building Fortell, an AI hearing aid startup that recently raised $163 million from the likes of Founders…