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Honors Fund is thrilled to announce our recent investment in Hearsight.

The team at Hearsight is on a mission to empower individuals with hearing challenges by providing an innovative tool to enhance speech comprehension.

The statistics surrounding hearing loss are staggering, with approximately 430 million people currently in need of assistance, a number projected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050. However, less than 18% of adults with hearing loss utilize traditional hearing aids, and the discomfort associated with prolonged use limits their effectiveness. This creates a pressing need for affordable and accessible solutions to address the growing demand for hearing assistance.

The global pandemic has further exacerbated the challenges faced by those with hearing impairments, as mask mandates have made lip-reading less reliable for visual speech interpretation. In this context, Hearsight’s approach becomes even more critical — offering real-time subtitles through augmented reality glasses. These glasses discreetly display speech-to-text subtitles, utilizing embedded microphones to detect voices and informative sounds from all directions around the user.

What sets Hearsight apart is its commitment to creating a user-friendly, comfortable, and inconspicuous device. By combining speech-to-text technology with AR, Hearsight provides an inclusive solution that is independent of an individual’s hearing ability.

Led by co-founders Riley Ellingsen and Danny Fritz, both 2022 graduate students from the University of Notre Dame, Hearsight is fueled by their shared vision and complementary skills.

We are excited to witness a future where the hard of hearing community can confidently engage in conversations and navigate social interactions with ease. As CEAS Investments, we are proud to support Hearsight on their journey to transform the landscape of assistive hearing technology in our mission to support university-affiliated startups.