BOSTON, MASSACHUSSETTS — Hearing technology startup Legato has emerged from stealth with $12 million in funding and plans to introduce a new category of hearing devices built into conventional-looking eyeglass frames.
The Boston-based company announced the funding August 26, with backing from Neotribe Ventures, Listen, and Village Global. Legato also provided a first look at Legato Frames, which the company describes as AI-powered hearing glasses that integrate patented hearing-assistance technology into the arms of everyday eyewear.
Founded in 2024, Legato is positioning the glasses as an alternative for adults who could benefit from hearing assistance but may be reluctant to use conventional hearing aids. The company’s approach combines hearing technology with a familiar consumer product rather than attempting to make the hearing device itself increasingly small or invisible.
Legato says its technology is protected by four granted patents, with more than 20 additional patent applications pending.
Hearing Technology Built Into Eyewear
Legato Frames are designed to provide hearing assistance without requiring an in-ear or behind-the-ear device. The hearing components are instead incorporated into the eyeglass frame.
According to the company, its founders have previous experience developing products at Bose and Apple, including work on hearing and wearable technologies.
Legato CEO and co-founder Mehul Trivedi said the company sees cost, comfort, and stigma as continuing obstacles to wider adoption of hearing technology.
“We wanted to turn a hard-to-swallow medical device into a product people are actually excited to wear”
The company is taking a different approach from the hearing industry’s longstanding emphasis on making hearing devices as small and inconspicuous as possible. Instead, Legato is attempting to make hearing assistance part of a product that consumers may already choose to wear for reasons unrelated to hearing.
Hearing Glasses Emerging as a New Form Factor
Legato enters a hearing-glasses category that has begun attracting increased attention from both hearing technology companies and the broader consumer electronics industry.
In 2025, EssilorLuxottica received FDA clearance for Nuance Audio Glasses, which integrate an open-ear hearing solution into prescription-ready eyewear. Rather than requiring users to wear a separate hearing device, Nuance Audio combines vision correction and hearing assistance within a single familiar form factor.
More recently, Cearvol highlighted its hearing glasses at CES 2026, demonstrating another approach to incorporating hearing enhancement and open-ear audio into eyewear.
While hearing technology built into eyeglasses is not a new concept—eyeglass hearing aids were commercially available as far back as the 1950s and once represented a significant share of the hearing aid market—the form factor is experiencing a modern revival. Advances in miniaturization, digital signal processing, open-ear audio, wireless connectivity, and AI are allowing companies to revisit the concept in ways that more closely resemble contemporary consumer eyewear.
Legato will debut its first product, Legato Frames, in the coming months
The recent emergence of products from Nuance Audio, Cearvol, and now Legato suggests renewed interest in glasses as a platform for hearing assistance. For some consumers, particularly those who already wear prescription glasses, incorporating hearing support into something routinely worn throughout the day may offer an appealing alternative to adding a separate device on or in the ear.
The trend is also unfolding alongside the broader rise of smart and AI-enabled glasses. Products from Meta and other technology companies have increasingly familiarized consumers with eyewear incorporating microphones, open-ear speakers, cameras, voice assistants, and AI capabilities. Meta has said millions of its AI glasses have been sold, while the company and EssilorLuxottica have continued expanding the category with additional styles and capabilities.
As eyewear becomes a more established platform for connected technology, hearing assistance represents another potential application for components already well suited to the form factor, including microphones, directional audio, wireless connectivity, and increasingly sophisticated on-device processing.
Legato’s entry adds another approach to this emerging category, with the company focusing specifically on hearing assistance while emphasizing the appearance and everyday wearability of conventional eyewear.
Addressing Hearing Aid Adoption
Legato cited estimates indicating that approximately 50 million U.S. adults have hearing loss, while only a minority of people diagnosed with hearing loss ultimately pursue treatment.
The company believes combining hearing assistance with eyewear could help address some of the barriers that discourage people from adopting traditional hearing devices, particularly among adults beginning to notice hearing difficulty.
Hearing loss has also received increasing attention in discussions around healthy aging and cognitive health. The 2024 Lancet Commission on dementia prevention, intervention, and care identified hearing loss among the potentially modifiable risk factors associated with dementia.
While the extent to which a new form factor alone can change hearing-care adoption remains to be seen, hearing glasses may provide another entry point for consumers who do not identify with traditional hearing aids or who prefer a device that serves multiple purposes.
Rick Desai, managing partner at Listen, said the firm’s investment reflects its interest in products combining new technology with consumer-centered design. The company views AI, product design, and a more familiar wearable format as potential ways to make hearing technology fit more naturally into everyday life.
Legato Frames Expected This Fall
Legato says its first Frames models are expected to become available later this fall in a variety of styles.
The products will be offered through the company’s website at legatohearing.com and through select eye care providers in the United States.
The company has not yet announced specific pricing, but says Legato Frames will cost a fraction of what consumers typically pay for traditional hearing aids. Legato also says the glasses may often be eligible for vision insurance when purchased through an eye care clinic.
Additional product specifications, including details regarding the hearing system, AI functionality, fitting approach, battery performance, and available frame designs, have not yet been announced.
About Legato
Legato is reimagining how hearing health can be identified and addressed through AI-powered hearing glasses. Founded in 2024 by industry veterans with previous experience developing products at Bose and Apple, the company combines hearing technology with eyewear design and an emphasis on everyday wearability.
With a focus on innovation, style, and customer experience, Legato aims to shift hearing assistance from a standalone medical device toward a wearable product that can be incorporated into everyday life.
More information is available at legatohearing.com.
About Neotribe Ventures
Neotribe Ventures backs founders developing emerging and breakthrough technologies. Founded in 2017 by longtime NEA General Partner Kittu Kolluri, the firm manages more than $480 million across multiple funds and invests in early- through growth-stage companies spanning artificial intelligence, enterprise software, security, infrastructure, robotics, climate technology, and computational biology.
More information is available at neotribe.vc.
About Listen
Founded in 2010, Listen is a consumer-focused venture capital firm that partners with founders building brands around shifts in consumer behavior. The firm invests capital and operating resources in a concentrated portfolio of consumer businesses across multiple categories.
Source: Legato
