BOSTON, Aug. 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Legato, a hearing technology company, today emerged from stealth with $12 million in funding from Neotribe Ventures, Listen, and Village Global. The company also debuted a first look at Legato Frames, the world’s first AI hearing glasses, which discreetly integrate patented hearing-assistance technology into the arms of eyewear frames. Legato’s hearing solutions make better hearing as easy and intuitive as putting on a pair of glasses and were designed to overcome the barriers that prevent millions of people from addressing hearing loss.
Hearing loss affects an estimated 50 million adults in the U.S., but only 20% of those with diagnosed loss actually address it. “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,” said Mehul Trivedi, CEO and co-founder of Legato. “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.”
“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.”
The consequences extend well beyond hearing itself: a 2024 report from the Lancet Standing Commission on Dementia Prevention, Intervention, and Care identified hearing loss as the No. 1 potentially modifiable risk factor for dementia — ahead of smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, and alcohol use.
Legato's technology, protected by four granted patents and more than 20 pending applications, delivers performance that rivals traditional hearing aids in the discreet form factor of everyday eyewear.
“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 Frames will be available later this fall in a variety of styles online at legatohearing.com and through select eye care providers around the country. Legato Frames will be priced at a fraction of the cost of traditional hearing aids and will often be eligible for vision insurance when purchased through an eye care clinic.
Sign up for company and product updates at legatohearing.com.
About Legato
Legato is reimagining how we identify and address hearing health with the world’s first AI hearing glasses. Founded in 2024 by industry veterans behind groundbreaking products at Bose and Apple, Legato combines advanced technology with elegant design to create the hearing solution of the future that people want to wear. With a focus on innovation, style, and a high-touch customer experience from beginning to end, Legato is shifting hearing solutions from a difficult-to-adopt medical device to a wearable product people are proud to use every day.
Press inquiries: press@legatohearing.com
About Neotribe Ventures
Neotribe Ventures backs bold founders building breakthrough technologies that reimagine what's possible. Founded in 2017 by longtime NEA General Partner Kittu Kolluri, the firm manages over $480 million across multiple funds and invests in early- to growth-stage companies spanning AI, enterprise software, security, infrastructure, robotics, climate tech, and computational biology. Learn more at www.neotribe.vc.
About Listen
Founded in 2010, Listen is a consumer-obsessed venture capital firm that partners with founders to build disruptive brands at the tipping point of behavior shifts. Listen operates a concentrated, high-ownership strategy investing both capital and capability in each portfolio brand, leveraging its team of investors, consumer-insight experts, and creative capitalists. Their portfolio brands include Calm, Factor, Rugiet, Modern Pediatrics, Jolie, Go Brewing, Black Buffalo and more.
