Late last month, Legato emerged from stealth with new funding and the introduction of its first product: artificial intelligence (AI)-based hearing glasses.
Let’s begin with Legato.
Operating out of Boston, Massachusetts, the hearing technology company was originally co-founded in 2024 by two veteran industry executives:
- CEO Mehul Trivedi
- His background: led the development of Bose Frames, an an audio-only augmented reality (AR) platform; served as senior vice president of wearable tech at EssilorLuxottica (Meta Ray-Bans)
- President Steve Romine
- His background: headed up the hearing aid division at Bose; served as chief operating officer at Audicus, a direct-to-consumer hearing care company
Next up: explain what “stealth” means.
In the context of business operations, a stealth mode startup is a company that intentionally avoids public visibility while developing its product.
The reasoning behind this may include protecting intellectual property (IP) and limiting outside (public scrutiny)—particularly while refining a product—as well as serving as a fundraising strategy.
See here for more on this.
Speaking of fundraising—talk about its recent financing win.
Legato emerged from stealth with $12 million in new seed financing. Its investors:
- Neotribe Ventures (lead; early-stage venture capital firm)
- Listen
- Village Global
The focus of this financing: development and marketing support for those aforementioned AI-powered hearing glasses, dubbed the Legato Frames.
- This includes scaling production, enhancing the product’s AI capabilities, and expanding marketing efforts to reach a broader audience.
Noted. Tell me more about this flagship product.
Legato’s claim: The frames are “the world’s first AI hearing glasses.”
Its design: discreetly integrates patented hearing-assistance technology into the arms of the eyewear frames.
Expand on this tech.
Referred to as SpeechSenseAI, it’s protected by several patents (and 20 pending applications) registered through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
What it does: isolates speech by separating voices from background noise—in real time—so conversations are clearer in varying noise environments (restaurants and offices included).
Circle back to these patents—do we know specifics?
The referenced patents in question:
- US 12,549,909
- US 12,627,937
- US 12,739,578 (issued on Sept. 15)
To note: Legato told Glance that a fourth patent (US patent application serial no. 19/640,282) is currently waiting to be assigned a specific patent number from the USPTO.
So how are the frames designed?
Per Legato, the “featherweight” glasses are “lightweight enough to forget you’re wearing them.”
Other notable features:
- AI hearing (as we mentioned, for speech isolation)
- Open-air audio for private sound (without blocking ears)
And what lenses can they fit?
Prescription lenses—specific to a patient—can reportedly be “fully integrated” into the frames and worn all day.
To note: Lens types were not specified and it is currently unclear how the process will work for customers to have their individual prescriptions added to the frames.
I’m curious … how do the Legato Frames compare to traditional hearing aids?
Check out this comparison between the two options.
Also worth noting: These frames follow in the wake of EssilorLuxottica’s Nuance Audio Glasses, which was granted FDA clearance in 2025 as over-the-counter (OTC), prescription-based smart glasses equipped with hearing aids.
- Click here for more on this.
Next up: availability.
That’s currently pending. The company shared plans to release its flagship product in a variety of styles “later this fall” at select eyecare practice locations—though no specific date was provided.
Click here to join the waitlist.
And the pricing?
Also unclear—but Legato did note that the glasses “will be priced at a fraction of the cost of traditional hearing aids.”
Regarding vision insurance: They’’ll reportedly “often be eligible” when purchased via an eyecare practice.
We anticipate more details in the near future on the specifics of this. So, as always, stay tuned.