Michael Barbella, Managing Editor05.18.21
Olive Union has closed a $7 million Series B funding round led by Beyond Next Ventures, Bonds Investment Groups, and Japan Policy Finance Corporation.
The investment closes as Olive prepares to ship its new U.S. Food and Drug Administration-registered Olive Pro 2-in-1 true wireless earbuds and smart hearing aids later this year. With the current round and cumulative $20 million in lifetime funding, Olive plans to expand beyond its existing hearing aids product line into new digital therapeutics for tinnitus and overall hearing health, and begin laying the foundation for its next generation of smart hearing technology.
“Collective exposure to prolonged and nearby loud noises has put us in the middle of an unprecedented decline in global hearing health,” said Olive Union Founder and CEO Owen Song.
The World Health Organization projects that by 2050 nearly 2.5 billion people will have some degree of hearing loss. That staggering projection already affects 1.5 billion people today, yet only a fraction of those with hearing loss actually get the help they need. Today’s solutions aren’t working because they’re expensive, inconvenient and stigmatized.
“We started Olive to be the antithesis of an aging hearing aid industry that lacks innovation, but quickly learned that our biggest challenge was a lack of hearing health education,” continued Song. “We’re dedicated to educating the general public in an easy-to-understand way on why they need to take their hearing health as seriously as their vision, heart and gut health.”
Most people with hearing loss don’t need traditional hearing aids, just like most people with vision loss don’t need the most extreme of high-prescription lenses. Getting the help you do need though, can help slow or prevent further hearing loss. Olive’s existing technology and future digital therapies are and will be affordable, easy-to-use solutions for the majority of those with some degree of hearing loss.
The investment closes as Olive prepares to ship its new U.S. Food and Drug Administration-registered Olive Pro 2-in-1 true wireless earbuds and smart hearing aids later this year. With the current round and cumulative $20 million in lifetime funding, Olive plans to expand beyond its existing hearing aids product line into new digital therapeutics for tinnitus and overall hearing health, and begin laying the foundation for its next generation of smart hearing technology.
“Collective exposure to prolonged and nearby loud noises has put us in the middle of an unprecedented decline in global hearing health,” said Olive Union Founder and CEO Owen Song.
The World Health Organization projects that by 2050 nearly 2.5 billion people will have some degree of hearing loss. That staggering projection already affects 1.5 billion people today, yet only a fraction of those with hearing loss actually get the help they need. Today’s solutions aren’t working because they’re expensive, inconvenient and stigmatized.
“We started Olive to be the antithesis of an aging hearing aid industry that lacks innovation, but quickly learned that our biggest challenge was a lack of hearing health education,” continued Song. “We’re dedicated to educating the general public in an easy-to-understand way on why they need to take their hearing health as seriously as their vision, heart and gut health.”
Most people with hearing loss don’t need traditional hearing aids, just like most people with vision loss don’t need the most extreme of high-prescription lenses. Getting the help you do need though, can help slow or prevent further hearing loss. Olive’s existing technology and future digital therapies are and will be affordable, easy-to-use solutions for the majority of those with some degree of hearing loss.
