Want a Fortell Hearing Aid? Well, Who Do You Know?

Summary

Fortell is a new AI-powered hearing aid that promises a major leap in clarity for people with age-related hearing loss, especially in noisy social settings (the so-called “Cocktail Party Problem”). Founded by Matt de Jonge and ex-Butterfly colleagues, the startup built proprietary spatial-AI algorithms and a custom low-latency chip to separate speech from noise in real time. Early demos and a small NYU-blinded test favour Fortell strongly versus an industry-leading AI hearing aid, and wealthy beta testers — including celebrities and billionaires — have reported dramatic improvements. The product launches in a single Park Avenue clinic with a $6,800 price tag and a long waitlist, leaving questions about scalability, accessibility and the independence of the company-funded studies.

Key Points

Fortell combines advanced source-separation AI (spatial AI) with a custom chip to process audio under 10 ms latency, aiming to preserve naturalness.
Founders and core team came from Bridgewater, Butterfly IQ and Google AI-chip work, with backing from investors like Joshua Kushner and Henry Kravis.
Company claims strong scientific results: an NYU-blinded test reported a 9.2 dB advantage and 18.9x higher odds of understanding speech in multi-talker environments versus a top competitor.
Beta testing has been limited and exclusive; the devices have become a status symbol among wealthy NYC circles and celebrities.
Retail launch is limited to one Manhattan clinic, priced at $6,800 (including audiologist support), which may restrict adoption despite being competitive with high-end medical devices.
Questions remain about study design (company-funded, possibly cherry-picked conditions), placebo effects from white-glove tuning, and whether the tech can scale to over-the-counter or lower-cost devices.
Fortell addresses a major unmet need: many who would benefit from hearing aids don’t use them because of cost, comfort or insufficient improvement in real social settings.

Why should I read this?

If you or someone you care for struggles to hear in noisy places, this isn’t just another gadget story — it could be genuinely life-changing. Fortell may crack the hardest real-world hearing problem using AI and bespoke silicon, but right now it’s locked behind a velvet rope. Read this to find out why early users are raving, what the science actually says (and its limits), and whether this is a breakthrough that will trickle down — or another ultra-premium product for the few.