Eargo raises $52M for direct-to-consumer product

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They currently offer three models and just four weeks after their latest launch of the Eargo Neo, the company has raised a further $52m from investors. A total of $135 million has been raised from NEA, the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, Nan Fung Life Sciences, Maveron and now Future Fund (Australia’s sovereign wealth fund).

The company say their small and virtually invisible direct-to-consumer hearing aids, which come in an AirPods-style chargeable case, are designed to help destigmatize hearing loss. The products can be customized remotely via the case’s Bluetooth connectivity; the case is also the recharging unit.

Headquartered in San Jose, Eargo, which counts 20,000 users, will use the cash to continue crafting and innovating new products targeting baby boomers. The newly launched Eargo Neo is the business’s third line of high-tech hearing aids. The first, Eargo Plus ($1,450), was released in 2017 and the Eargo Max ($2,150) was launched the following year. The products were chosen as Time Magazine Best Inventions of 2018.

“We can see that the product is really making a difference for users,” Eargo chief executive officer Christian Gormsen said. “We have the opportunity to really create a leading brand in the consumer hearing health space.” He continued “Getting a hearing aid feels like admitting a defeat, like there’s something wrong with you, but that’s not true, hearing loss is natural and happens,” Gormsen said. “The number one challenge for the entire industry is awareness. There is so little knowledge about hearing loss out there; it’s such a stigmatized category and how do you change that? The current channel doesn’t do anything to address it, the only way you can address it is through education and communication.”

The Chief Executive Officer of Eargo, Christian Gormsen, previously worked for GN ReSound and the Chief Technology Office is Tim Trine, who held the same position at Starkey Hearing Technologies.