Jiuyee Medical Files IPO Prospectus: Delivering Affordable, High-Quality, and Truly Smart Hearing Aids

Hearing impairment is defined by the World Health Organization as a “silent epidemic.”

According to the World Report on Hearing released by the World Health Organization in 2021, there are currently 1.5 billion people with hearing loss worldwide. The China Hearing Health Report (2021) indicates that this figure has reached 200 million in China. The report also points out that age-related hearing loss is the leading cause of hearing disability in China, accounting for 51.61% of cases. Furthermore, only 5% of patients in China use hearing aids, a rate far lower than that in developed Western countries.

Hearing loss not only causes inconvenience in daily life and poses safety risks, but also significantly harms the physical and mental health of individuals with hearing impairments. In adolescents, hearing impairment can lead to delayed development of speech functions, with severe cases resulting in deaf-mutism. In adults, particularly the elderly, hearing impairment often leads to a loss of interest in the external world, triggering feelings of inferiority and anxiety. Over time, this may result in social withdrawal and even affect the central nervous system, potentially inducing conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.

As the deaf-blind writer Helen Keller once said, “If I could choose between restoring my sight or my hearing, I would choose to hear. For blindness cuts me off from things, but deafness cuts me off from people.”

Currently, approximately 95% of the global hearing aid market is monopolized by five major foreign manufacturers: Switzerland’s Sonova Group, Denmark’s Demant Group, GN ReSound Hearing Group, WS Audiology Hearing Group, and the United States’ Starkey Hearing Technologies Group. While hearing aids from these five manufacturers offer superior sound quality, they are prohibitively expensive, with individual units ranging from nearly RMB 10,000 to tens of thousands of yuan. Moreover, they typically require replacement every three to five years. Such high prices deter countless patients who are in greatest need of hearing aids.

Meanwhile, these manufacturers have woven a dense web of patents over the course of their long development, making it difficult for countless latecomers to enter the market. However, this very challenge has spurred numerous emerging Chinese hearing aid companies to rise to the occasion and break through the blockade.

Jiuyee Medical Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Jiuyee”), which secured RMB 30 million in angel-round financing from investors including Shunwei Capital in February 2023, is a representative emerging force in the field of domestically produced smart hearing aids.

Jiuyee is a technology-driven medical enterprise specializing in hearing aids, integrating R&D, manufacturing, sales, and services. It is committed to restoring healthy hearing for individuals with hearing loss through innovative technologies. Upholding the core values of integrity, kindness, and pragmatism, Jiuyee provides affordable, high-quality, and premium-yet-accessible hearing solutions, ensuring that all individuals with hearing loss can hear clearly, authentically, and with love.

Zhang Diaozhan, Founder of Jiuyee Hearing Aids

Zhang Diaozhan, Founder of Jiuyee Hearing Aids,As a partner at 1MORE Acoustics and former Head of Design Verification for Apple, Amazon, and other brands at Foxconn, Zhang Diaozhan oversaw design verification for Apple’s iMac, eMac, iPod, and iPod HiFi, as well as R&D verification for Amazon’s Kindle e-reader. During his tenure at 1MORE, he led the development of Huawei’s, Xiaomi’s, and OPPO’s first TWS earbuds, as well as Devialet’s inaugural TWS model. He has extensive expertise in overcoming technical barriers and creating blockbuster products from scratch.

Jiuyee Hearing Aids Co-Founding Team

Another co-founder of Jiuyee and the head of R&D is a Ph.D. graduate from Peking University and a postdoctoral researcher who studied in the United States. He has long been engaged in technical research and product development in the field of hearing, holding multiple invention patents and industry awards. The R&D team also includes an acoustics expert with over 25 years of experience in electro-acoustic technology, as well as more than ten seasoned engineers. The leaders of Jiuyee’s marketing and supply chain teams both possess 20 years of experience in the electronics industry, with a particular focus on acoustics. Notably, these teams include core members who previously contributed to the development of smart speaker products such as Xiao Ai and Xiao Du. It is fair to say that every member of Jiuyee’s founding team is a leading expert in their respective fields.

The Jiuyee team, driven by strong innovation momentum, quickly brought about powerful advancements in chips and algorithms.

Chips and algorithms are the critical determinants of hearing aid sound quality.

Among these factors, the chip, serving as the “brain” of the hearing aid, directly determines disparities in key performance areas such as amplification efficacy, sound quality, noise reduction capabilities, and the adjustment and processing of sounds in complex environments. However, whether in the industrial or medical sector, chip technology remains a critical bottleneck (“chokepoint”), and many domestic hearing aid manufacturers still rely on imported chips.

To deliver hearing aid products that are “affordable, high-quality, and premium yet reasonably priced” for the general public, the primary challenge to address is the chip technology. Due to the patent blockade and monopoly on chip technologies by foreign brands, Jiuyee Medical has overcome significant technical barriers by pioneering a unique “Triple-Chip Architecture”—integrating a professional hearing aid chip, a high-end Bluetooth chip, and an AI chip into a single unified system. Each chip specializes in its respective domain, maximizing its functional performance. This holistic technical solution achieves a seamless integration of professional hearing aid capabilities with true wireless Bluetooth technology.

In terms of hearing assistance performance:The greater the number of WDRC channels in a hearing aid, the clearer and more refined the sound processing. Jiuyee hearing aids feature up to 64-channel WDRC, which is 2–4 times that of current imported products. Additionally, there is a certain processing latency between sound output and its transmission to the human ear when using a hearing aid; if the latency exceeds 15 milliseconds, it can cause noticeable echo and dizziness. Jiuyee hearing aids achieve a latency as low as 4.6 milliseconds, well below the 15-millisecond requirement mandated by the U.S. FDA. Furthermore, since individuals with hearing loss typically wear hearing aids for extended periods throughout the day, long battery life has become a critical performance metric. Jiuyee hearing aids offer a total battery life of up to 120 hours, fully meeting users’ needs for prolonged wear.

In terms of intelligent experience:With traditional digital hearing aids, wearers must manually switch modes depending on the scenario. In contrast, the AI chip built into Jiuyee hearing aids, combined with proprietary algorithms, can intelligently recognize the user’s environment and automatically adjust sound settings accordingly. For instance, excessively high volume is unnecessary in quiet indoor settings, whereas in noisy environments such as wet markets, speech enhancement and background noise suppression are required. The intelligent adjustment powered by the AI chip ensures clear and comfortable auditory perception in any environment, eliminating the need for manual adjustments and offering greater convenience.

Bluetooth Hearing Aid Coordination is Another Highlight of Jiuyee Hearing Aids:Currently, most professional hearing aids on the market do not support Bluetooth functionality. Even among those that do, they fail to provide hearing-specific processing for Bluetooth phone calls, music, and video audio, effectively functioning merely as standard Bluetooth headsets; consequently, users with hearing loss still struggle to hear clearly. In contrast, Jiuyee hearing aids feature a Bluetooth chip that works in synergy with the hearing aid chip. When using Bluetooth functions, the device automatically applies gain compensation to ensure that users with hearing loss can hear sounds clearly and authentically.

In terms of product appearance design, Jiuyee Medical has abandoned the traditional flesh-tone color of hearing aids, opting for more vibrant and avant-garde colors along with slimmer, minimalist lines to reduce the psychological burden on wearers. Additionally, the device features medical-grade silicone ear tips and weighs only 5 grams, ensuring a lightweight fit that does not pressure the ears.

Beyond innovations in product technology, Jiuyee has revolutionized the hearing aid fitting process by disrupting traditional offline methods. Its self-developed intelligent hearing fitting APP enables users to independently complete hospital-grade hearing tests and hearing aid fittings from the comfort of their homes. The audiometric testing protocol adheres to international standards and has been validated through multiple rounds of user testing, ensuring professional rigor and accuracy. In contrast to the repeated visits to physical stores required for examinations and adjustments in traditional offline models, patients can simply follow guided instructions at home to complete both the hearing test and hearing aid fitting in approximately five minutes, offering a simple and highly efficient solution.

“Many hearing-impaired patients still cannot hear the voices of their loved ones and the world due to the high cost of hearing aids,” stated Zhang Diaozhan. On the basis of ensuring product quality, Jiuyee Medical will adopt an online-fitting-first, offline-store-supported model to improve fitting efficiency and reduce users’ time costs, enabling more users to afford, access, and clearly benefit from their hearing aids.

It is reported that Jiuyee Medical has obtained the National Class II Medical Device Registration Certificate, the Medical Device Production License, and U.S. FDA establishment registration. The company is expected to hold a product launch event in the first half of this year, unveiling its first smart Bluetooth hearing aid and commencing full-scale sales both domestically and internationally, thereby providing high-performance, cost-effective products to individuals with hearing loss at home and abroad.