ZhiTing Hearing Aids Secures Tens of Millions in Pre-A+ Funding, Driving Intelligent Hearing Aid Innovation with Four Core Competencies

VCBeat has learned that Eartech, the Shenzhen-based company engaged in the R&D, manufacturing, and sales of ZhiTing hearing aids, recently announced the completion of its Pre-A+ financing round, raising tens of millions of RMB. The investors in this round were Dalton Venture and JINDING CAPITAL. Huaxin Capital served as the exclusive long-term financial advisor. The funds raised will be primarily used for new product development and the expansion of sales channels.

Zhiteng hearing aids hold ISO 13485 international medical device quality management system certification; China GMP certification and Class II medical device registration certificate; and U.S. FDA Class II medical device registration. Eartech is a National High-Tech Enterprise with core competencies in speech signal processing algorithms and DSP chip development. It is an appointed supplier to Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, and has received the Xiaomi Youpin Best Product Dark Horse Award, the JD.com Emerging Brand Award, and was recognized as the only domestic hearing aid brand recommended for quality by JD Health.

Prior to this funding round, Eartech had secured an angel round led by Lihua Venture Capital, as well as a Pre-A round worth tens of millions of RMB invested by Xiaomi Strategic Investment, Shunwei Capital, and Qingsong Fund. At a time when China’s hearing aid market is dominated by foreign brands and domestic players are striving to break through, why has this company repeatedly attracted investor interest? In late August, VCBeat spoke with Dr. Chen Fei, founder of Eartech, to decode the breakthrough strategy of this smart hearing aid enterprise.

“The hearing aid industry has reached an inflection point.” This is Dr. Chen Fei’s assessment of the current development of the domestic hearing aid industry in China.

The reasons are primarily twofold: First, from the perspective of market demand, China has approximately 200 million people with hearing impairments. However, according to relevant statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the penetration rate of hearing aids in China is only about 5%, significantly lower than the over 30% penetration rate in developed countries such as the United States, indicating substantial market potential.

According to Dr. Chen Fei, “The recent surge in offline store expansion by major foreign hearing aid manufacturers in China is aimed at capturing the inflection point marking the launch of China’s hearing aid market.”

On the other hand, from the perspective of technological reserves, hearing aids, as active medical devices, are electronic products. "In recent years, China's capabilities in the electronics industry supply chain and the development of software and hardware for intelligent wearable devices have been rapidly improving, reaching world-class levels. This has provided the material foundation for the explosive, inflection-point growth of the hearing aid industry in China."

Dr. Chen Fei obtained the national-level certification as a Senior Hearing Aid Fitter during his doctoral studies at Tsinghua University. After years of hands-on experience in the hearing aid industry, he identified a persistent pain point among the hearing-impaired population in China: “Those who can afford high-quality devices cannot hear clearly, while those who can hear clearly with affordable devices cannot afford them.”

This rather tongue-in-cheek remark highlights the pain points faced by hearing-impaired individuals in China when purchasing hearing aids. For hearing aid manufacturers, the key to breaking through lies in reducing product prices and lowering access barriers while ensuring professional standards in medical rehabilitation.

“We have achieved a breakthrough in one key area—intelligence. Through this intelligence, we enable two capabilities: user adaptability and environmental adaptability,” stated Dr. Chen Fei.

VCBeat has learned that,In terms of intelligence, ZhiTing hearing aids have established four core competitive advantages:

1. Intelligent Fitting. Leveraging the AI-powered self-assessment technology of the Eartech App, it can determine the degree of hearing loss and customize the compensation curve.The implementation of this feature is made possible by Dr. Chen Fei’s invention patent, “An Autonomous Hearing Aid Fitting System and Method Based on Smart Terminals.” This technology has undergone clinical-grade testing in specialized ENT hospitals, and the research findings have been published in IEEE T-BioCAS, a top-tier international journal in the field of biomedical engineering.

Second, enable remote manual assistance and debugging.According to Dr. Chen Fei, “Remote fitting and debugging technologies are currently mastered only by Eartech and a few major European and American hearing aid brands.” Back-end fitting specialists can adjust hearing aid parameters remotely for users thousands of miles away via network communication technology, which is of great significance for enabling users to safely enjoy professional hearing care services at home in the post-pandemic era.

Third, the fitting algorithm for dynamic training. Eartech hearing aids incorporate audiometric tone synthesis algorithms for sensitivity and tolerance curves, a prescription algorithm for differentiated auditory compensation curves, and a machine learning algorithm that incrementally updates based on demographic characteristics and case accumulation. This technology has been granted an invention patent, and the research findings have been published in the core otolaryngology journal *Journal of Audiology and Speech Pathology*.

Fourth, deep learning-based speech enhancement algorithms. The backend of the Eartech hearing aid employs inference algorithms trained on Chinese corpora to identify and classify scenarios common in the daily lives of Chinese users (such as noisy environments like restaurants), perform millisecond-level frequency band segmentation, and execute noise reduction and speech enhancement, thereby helping users hear clear, pure speech.

Moreover, VCBeat has learned that Eartech hearing aids hold more than 40 invention patents, many of which pertain to core R&D areas in hearing aid technology. In addition, Eartech possesses multiple core intellectual property rights in the field of integrated circuit layout design for hearing aids.

The advanced intelligent technologies in Zhiting hearing aids are closely related to “standing on the shoulders of giants.”

According to Dr. Chen Fei, her doctoral supervisor, Professor Wang Zhihua of the School of Integrated Circuits at Tsinghua University, served as the chief scientist for the 863 Program’s cochlear implant chip research and development project, bringing over two decades of core technological expertise in the field of otological medical device R&D.

Sun Qi, Founding Managing Partner of Dalton VentureStatement: The hearing aid market offers vast opportunities. Eartech is dedicated to addressing key industry pain points, ensuring that “high-clarity devices are affordable, and affordable devices deliver high clarity.” Under the leadership of Dr. Chen, the company has developed a series of core competencies and positioned itself at the forefront of domestically produced alternatives. Furthermore, we observe growing willingness and ability to pay in the home medical device market. High-quality home medical devices not only provide tangible benefits to patients but also mitigate risks associated with policies such as centralized procurement.

Project Lead at JINDING CAPITALStatement: As we focus on the home medical device sector, we have strategically targeted the hearing aid category, which holds immense potential. Given the evident industry pain points and opportunities, this segment represents a prime avenue within the home medical device market. Dr. Chen of Eartech has cultivated deep expertise in the industry for over a decade, accumulating substantial technical and sector-specific knowledge. His passion and conviction for hearing aids make him a rare talent in the field. The hearing aid market in China still has a long growth trajectory ahead. By persevering with a pragmatic approach, leveraging proprietary core technologies, and prioritizing user experience through dedicated service, Eartech is poised to help more patients regain their hearing and will undoubtedly become a shining example of domestically produced hearing aids.

Dalton Venture focuses on early-to-mid-stage investments and mergers and acquisitions in the healthcare sector. Its core team members all come from the healthcare industry, having successfully incubated early-stage startups and managed listed companies with a market capitalization of tens of billions. Dalton Venture holds unique investment advantages in niche fields such as innovative medical devices, healthcare services, and biotechnology, and was the earliest institutional investor in multiple leading projects within these segments. Selected portfolio companies include Landin Medical, Deepwise Medical, Triastek, and Dayi Group. Dalton Venture has received numerous honors, including being ranked among the “Top 100 Best Venture Capital Firms in China” by VCBeat.

Jinding Capital is an industrial investment firm with deep, long-term expertise in the consumer, healthcare, and technology sectors. Committed to sustained industry engagement, it excels at identifying under-the-radar opportunities. By cultivating highly specialized teams focused on niche markets, Jinding Capital strives to serve as a long-term capital partner for industry players, entrepreneurs, and business leaders. It aims to grow, develop, and expand alongside the industries it serves, becoming an integral part of the corporate ecosystem.