MoneySeptember 16, 2026via TechCrunch Startups
Why Thrive, Founders Fund, and Antonio Gracias are betting on hearing aids
Why it matters
A well-funded startup (Fortell) is using AI to solve a decades-old adoption problem in hearing aids—positioning this as a consumer AI category with real venture backing and institutional confidence. The funding and investor lineup signal a shift in how VCs view AI + healthcare hardware.
Key signals
- $163M funding round for Fortell
- Investors: Founders Fund, Thrive Capital, Valor Equity Partners
- Founder: Matthew de Jonge
- 6 years in development
- Category: AI-powered hearing aids
- Problem framing: adoption friction vs. glasses (analogy to user behavior)
- Fortell raised $163M
- Investors: Founders Fund, Thrive Capital, Valor Equity
- Company spent 6 years in development
- Use case: AI-driven hearing aid adoption, addressing low user adoption rates in category
The hook
$163M. That's what Founders Fund, Thrive, and Valor just bet on AI hearing aids—and why the category might be the next consumer AI breakout.
“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…