Founder Exits Siemens to Launch HiKari Hearing, Achieves Breakthrough in Domestic Hearing Aid SoC Development

The upstream segment of the hearing aid industry chain primarily consists of various electronic components, such as chips, with chips being the most critical component in hearing aid devices.

For hearing aid devices,The quality of chip processing power largely determines the performance of algorithms and, consequently, the overall performance of hearing aids.. The higher the performance of a hearing aid, the more it requires powerful and professional computational processing capabilities, an appropriate number of WDRC channels, and chips with low power consumption and low latency. Currently, leading global hearing aid brands all possess the capability to independently research and design hearing aid chips.

Meanwhile,Chips also determine product costs to a certain extent.According to Shenwan Hongyuan Research's "In-Depth Report on the Hearing Aid Industry,"Depending on chip performance, its cost can account for more than 50%.

However, only a handful of companies have truly achieved breakthroughs in relevant technologies and are capable of competing with imported brands.

Chinese hearing aid manufacturers currently remain heavily reliant on imported chips, mostly by purchasing general-purpose DSP (Digital Signal Processing) chips and integrating them with proprietary algorithms. To break this deadlock, domestic manufacturers face only two viable paths: either become product integrators by purchasing core components such as application-specific chips at high costs, or overcome technological barriers through independent R&D to master core technologies like hearing aid chips. Whichever path is chosen, the challenge is undoubtedly immense.

In recent years, with breakthroughs in key core technologies, a small number of manufacturers have begun developing their own chips, and some have already achieved mass production.Suzhou Haikadi Hearing Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Haikadi”) is a high-tech company specializing in the research and development of master control chips for hearing aids, complete device manufacturing, fitting platform software development, and the production of various hearing products.

Against this industry backdrop, Haikadi has achieved rapid growth, securing multiple national patented technologies and successfully developing its proprietary hearing aid main control chip, the Lark L158x. Currently, Haikadi has developed in-the-ear (ITE) and behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid products based on the Lark L158x dedicated hearing aid chip, which have received regulatory approval for market launch. The development of its full range of hearing aid products is nearing completion. Meanwhile, the company’s independently developed remote fitting service platform, compliant with audiological fitting algorithms, has gone live.

Hearing aids are a golden track that has attracted significant attention from the capital market.

On one hand, as population aging intensifies, the number of individuals with hearing loss is growing rapidly, creating a vast market opportunity. According to estimates in the Report on the Current Status and Development Trends of Hearing Health in China, the number of people aged 65 and above suffering from hearing impairment in China has currently reached 120 million. On the other hand, while demand in the hearing aid industry is substantial, product penetration remains low, leaving a massive amount of unmet market needs. In the future, with increased public awareness and technological breakthroughs in domestic hearing aids, China’s nascent hearing aid industry is poised to unleash significant growth potential.

However, seizing the first-mover advantage in this sector is no easy feat.Domestic hearing aid manufacturers must address the critical challenge currently facing the industry: the monopoly of core hearing aid technologies by overseas companies.. Through independent research and development, we have overcome technical barriers in algorithms and chips, achieving full-industry-chain development of hearing aid technology, thereby reducing the excessive reliance of Chinese hearing aid manufacturers on imported foreign chips.

As early as 2016, Gu Yi, founder of Hicarty, recognized the severe state of “internal troubles and external threats” facing China’s hearing aid industry.

He believes that, externally, control over chip technology, fitting software, and market layout all lies with foreign entities. Internally, relevant chip R&D personnel lack sufficient technical reserves, and there is no robust technical research in audiology and acoustics. The domestic key industrial chain for hearing aids is relatively underdeveloped, primarily focused on assembly and OEM services, lacking core competitiveness. However, as a major developing country, China should possess the capability to conduct core technology R&D and establish core industries related to hearing aids.

Despite numerous challenges, Gu Yi remained determined to leave Siemens Hearing Group and establish Hekaidi, with the resolve to build a homegrown Chinese hearing aid industry and scale it into a robust, competitive sector.

Gu Yi has assembled a professional team, with members primarily from the Siemens Hearing Group. The team includes multiple R&D and production technology experts in the field of electroacoustics, each with over 15 years of experience, and possesses independent capabilities in product design and development as well as process design and development. The team’s comprehensive expertise spans hearing research, microelectronic chip development, hardware and software development for hearing aids, refined production management, quality management, and the expansion of marketing and retail channels.

For the first three years prior to its establishment, Haikadi focused exclusively on the research of hearing aid chips, taking the lead in breaking through technical barriers.Successfully developed the Lark L158x chip in 2018. This chip features dedicated hearing aid functionality, full integration, a single-chip design, and ultra-low power consumption. It has obtained product registration certification and achieved mass production.

It is understood that the Lark L158x adopts a single-chip fully integrated solution. The chip integrates an on-chip low-noise analog front-end (AFE), a low-power DSP with a dedicated instruction set, a HEAR core coprocessor, and a Class-D power amplifier. Based on this chip, a typical hearing aid system can be built by simply equipping it with a microphone, a receiver, and a zinc-air battery.

Its core algorithms include howling suppression, noise reduction, multi-channel loudness compensation, and feedback cancellation. These are primarily designed to reduce machine and environmental noise, enhance speech intelligibility, and improve patient satisfaction and experience.

The chip has passed industry-standard testing for hearing aids, with its performance and power consumption metrics meeting the design requirements of hearing aid products. Its compact size makes it suitable for various types of hearing aid devices. Hearing aids developed based on this chip, including in-the-ear (ITE), behind-the-ear (BTE), and receiver-in-canal (RIC) models, have obtained Class II medical device registration certificates.

Hekaidi possesses a comprehensive manufacturing and inspection system for complete hearing aid units, based on the Lark L158x dedicated hearing aid chip., the company has developed not only body-worn, behind-the-ear (BTE), receiver-in-canal (RIC), standard in-the-ear (ITE), custom ITE, custom in-the-canal (ITC), and custom completely-in-canal (CIC) hearing aids, but alsoFull Range of Hearing Aid Products. Moreover, it has developed its own set ofHearing Aid Fitting System, with hearing research algorithms better tailored to the Chinese population, to provide superior fitting services,Achieved a closed-loop industrial chain ecosystem and full localization in the hearing aid sector.

In recent years, an increasing number of people have recognized the value of hearing aids, prompting a surge of manufacturers entering the market with innovative products and strategies. Over the past two years, not only Haikaidi but the entire domestic hearing aid industry in China has been experiencing rapid development.

Haikaidi has naturally not stopped its pace either. Currently,The company is launching the development of remote hearing aid fitting services and increasing R&D and investment in AI-based fitting and remote fitting services, thereby creating a shared service platform., enabling better connectivity among hearing aids, users, and audiologists through network support. This ensures that users in regions with relatively limited medical resources can also access hearing aids.

In the future, leveraging its R&D capabilities for hearing aid-specific chips and a comprehensive industrial chain ecosystem,Haikaidi will also launch additional product lines to meet the market’s personalized needs. Meanwhile, it will continue to iterate its chip technology and, leveraging this foundation, break foreign monopolies in the professional hearing aid sector, achieving comprehensive import substitution.Furthermore, the localization of hearing aid chips will further reduce product costs and strengthen companies' core competitiveness.

In fact, the value of hearing aids lies not only in their ability to help people with hearing impairments regain access to the sounds of the world, but more critically, in the fact that a group of entrepreneurs has achieved key technological breakthroughs through their efforts. They have built hearing aids as a bridge connecting the worlds of sound and silence, while truly reducing costs, enabling more people to cross this “bridge” and reach a broader world.

“R&D is not easy, but it is meaningful,” said Gu Yi.

From jointly launching the hearing aid business with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and undertaking the critical task of developing hearing aid chips, to achieving successful R&D and establishing a closed-loop ecosystem for hearing aids, Haikadi has demonstrated through concrete actions its confidence in realizing the full domestication of hearing aids in China. Moving forward, the company aims to further explore the growth potential of China’s hearing aid industry by forging deep collaborations with industry partners.