# Legato raises $12M for AI hearing glasses > Source: > Published: 2026-08-26 20:03:56+00:00 • 5 min read # Legato raises $12M for AI hearing glasses Legato’s open-ear Frames target mild to moderate hearing loss, with a US launch planned for later this fall and no final price yet. Image: [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/26/hearing-tech-startup-legato-emerges-from-stealth-with-12m-and-a-peek-at-its-ai-hearing-glasses/) Legato is emerging from stealth with **$12 million in funding** and a pair of AI-powered glasses designed to help people with mild to moderate hearing loss. The startup expects its Legato Frames to launch in the United States later this fall through select eye-care providers nationwide. The company is targeting the largest segment of the hearing-loss population, according to Legato, while trying to avoid several barriers associated with conventional hearing aids: cost, discomfort and the stigma of wearing a visible medical device. The glasses put Legato’s patented hearing-assistance technology inside the arms of ordinary-looking eyewear frames. Legato was founded in late 2024 by **Mehul Trivedi** and **Steve Romine**, both of whom previously worked at Bose. Trivedi led the creation of Bose Frames before moving to EssilorLuxottica, where he worked on smart-eyewear efforts including Meta Ray-Bans. Romine led Bose’s hearing-aids division and later became chief operating officer of hearing-care company Audicus. “Our goal is to make hearing as ubiquitous as vision. It’s kind of a no-brainer that you go to an eye exam, you get your glasses, you wear your glasses, and you’re happy, and you do that for the rest of your life — and the idea of it being blurry again where you would just stop wearing them is not a consideration. I think that’s what we want to do with hearing: just make it something that people address and almost forget about.” ## Voice separation instead of directional focus Most traditional hearing aids use directional microphones to prioritize sound arriving from a selected direction. That approach can work in quiet environments, but it can become less effective in noisy spaces such as restaurants, where a conversation may not stay in one predictable acoustic direction. Recommended reading Viture Pro 2 edges Xreal in budget AR glasses test Eli Navarro • • 5 min read Legato says its system takes a different route. An AI-powered processing system is designed to distinguish voices from background noise and amplify the voices rather than simply focusing on a direction. The company says the goal is clearer conversation with less of the mentally tiring listening experience that some hearing-aid users encounter. The frames use a proprietary combination of **acoustic design, signal processing and mechanical architecture**. Legato has not disclosed the chip, microphones, model architecture, processing latency or the conditions used to evaluate voice separation, so the product’s technical claims cannot yet be independently assessed from the information available. The open-ear design is paired with a dual-speaker system that directs audio toward the wearer. Legato says acoustic cancellation reduces sound escaping from the frames by **99% just a few inches away from the ear**. That claim addresses one of the practical problems with open-ear audio—audible leakage—but the company has not provided a test methodology or frequency range for the figure. “We wanted to deliver an experience that was unique. So a form factor that’s really discreet and looks normal. They’re meant to feel and look like regular glasses. And so, we want it to be a product that’s effortless, easy to use, with kind of no controls that you need to fiddle with, works everywhere, works throughout your day, doesn’t need a ton of configuration, and just delivers you better hearing.” Legato says users won’t need to adjust many controls or configure the system extensively, but it has not explained how the glasses will handle different hearing profiles, changing acoustic environments or situations where the AI misclassifies speech and noise. The company also hasn’t disclosed whether processing occurs on the frames, on a connected phone or through a cloud service. ## US availability and pricing Legato Frames are expected to be sold later in **fall 2026** through select eye-care providers across the US. The company says the glasses will cost “a fraction” of traditional hearing aids, but it has not announced a dollar price, prescription-lens pricing, subscription fees or the specific products used as the comparison point. Legato also says the Frames **may be eligible for vision insurance** when purchased through an eye-care clinic. That is not a guarantee of coverage, and the company has not disclosed which insurers or plans would qualify. There is no announced direct-to-consumer launch or confirmed availability outside the United States in the supplied information. The $12 million round came from **Neotribe Ventures, Listen and Village Global**. Legato says it is using the capital primarily for product development and marketing. The company is positioning the glasses as both eyewear and an everyday hearing product, saying they are intended to stay on a wearer for **16 hours**; it has not separately stated that figure as battery life. “Hearing, at first glance, it’s not so much just like 'I want to hear the TV better.' It’s really about connection. When you hear better, you connect to the world. It reduces dementia risk and depression risk. There’s impactful hearing health factors associated with better hearing. We’ve got a product that lives on people for 16 hours that is trusted to help them with their hearing and their vision, and we’d love to continue helping them in every way we can.” The company’s official product information is available on [Legato’s website](https://www.legatohearing.com/). Legato has not yet published a price, battery specification, hearing-performance data or details on its insurance and clinical pathway, so buyers won’t know how the Frames compare with conventional hearing aids or other audio glasses. [Eli Navarro](/authors/eli-navarro/) Gadgets Editor Eli is obsessed with the tangible future. He reviews phones, wearables, and everything with a battery. Known for his rigorous testing protocols and unabashed teardowns, Eli has broken more review units than he cares to admit, all in the name of discovering the truth about durability and repairability.