Why Thrive, Founders Fund, and Antonio Gracias are betting on hearing aids
The buzzy startup aims to build hearing aids that understand the sounds around you in real time, figure out what’s important and turn down the rest — instead of turning everything up at the same time, as most hearing aids do. On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan is joined by de Jonge to break down what it takes to disrupt a decades-old industry where five companies make 97% of the products, insurance won’t cover the cost, and innovation has been slow to arrive. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: How de Jonge went from mechanical engineering and a hedge fund career to building handheld ultrasound machines at Butterfly Network, and why that experience gave him the confidence to take on hearing aids next.
- ▪The buzzy startup aims to build hearing aids that understand the sounds around you in real time, figure out what’s important and turn down the rest — instead of turning everything up at the same time, as most hearing aids do.
- ▪On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan is joined by de Jonge to break down what it takes to disrupt a decades-old industry where five companies make 97% of the products, insurance won’t cover the cost, and inn
- ▪Listen to the full episode to hear more about: How de Jonge went from mechanical engineering and a hedge fund career to building handheld ultrasound machines at Butterfly Network, and why that experience gave him the confidence to take on h
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| Original publisher | TechCrunch — Startups |
| Canonical URL | https://techcrunch.com/podcast/why-thrive-founders-fund-and-antonio-gracias-are-betting-on-hearing-aids/ |
| Publication time | Wed, 16 Sep 2026 15:30:43 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-09-16T15:33:41.544Z |
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Why Thrive, Founders Fund, and Antonio Gracias are betting on hearing aids Rebecca Bellan , Theresa Loconsolo Sep 16, 2026 Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify “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 Fund, Thrive Capital, and Valor Equity Partners CEO Antonio Gracias. The buzzy startup aims to build hearing aids that understand the sounds around you in real time, figure out what’s important and turn down the rest — instead of turning everything up at the same time, as most hearing aids do.
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