Hearing Aid Giant Lively Secures $16M Series A Led by David Rubenstein to Launch Integrated Online Audiology Platform
VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) has learned that Lively, a hearing aid manufacturer based in New York, announced yesterday that it had secured $16 million in Series A financing. The round was led by Declaration Capital, the family office of “the king of capital” David M. Rubenstein, with participation from Tiger Management. The funds raised will be used to launch an online audiology platform, integrating hearing tests, hearing aid sales, and after-sales services.
Lively was established with investment from Redesign Health, a New York-based venture capital firm dedicated to investing in consumer health businesses to improve the patient care experience. Commenting on the funding of Lively, Brett Shaheen, CEO of Redesign Health, stated, “Lively helps the large number of individuals with hearing impairments who are unable to receive timely treatment. Its online platform brings convenience and affordability to the process of purchasing hearing aids. Furthermore, customers can consult with audiologists in a timely manner through the Lively platform during their hearing care journey, marking an innovation in the online hearing aid sector.”
Product Promotion Page on Lively's Official Website
Today, Lively has grown into a leading U.S. hearing aid manufacturer, with its products ranking among the most advanced internationally in both design and manufacturing. Meanwhile, at just $2,350 per pair, Lively’s hearing aids offer exceptional value compared to the national average cost of over $5,000.
Lively’s newly launched audiology platform supports pairing with smartphones or tablets, which can also connect to Lively hearing aids. Users can conduct self-assessments through Lively’s online hearing evaluation system, engage in face-to-face hearing consultations and remote fine-tuning with audiologists via video conferencing, and purchase high-quality hearing aids through its online services, enabling the entire process to be completed on the Lively platform. Additionally, Lively offers every user a 100-day money-back guarantee and two years of professional audiology support to facilitate timely adjustments and maintenance of their hearing aids.
Currently, there are over 35 million people with hearing impairment in the United States, with 70% to 85% of them untreated, indicating a substantial potential market size for hearing aids and audiology. Given the financial burden that precision instruments and high-quality medical care impose on patients, it is necessary for clinical audiology to expand into the field of telemedicine. The launch of Lively’s new platform will facilitate the company’s entry into, and even transformation toward, the telemedicine industry, enabling Lively to evolve into a comprehensive giant in the hearing impairment sector that integrates supply and distribution, medical consultation services, and patient care.
Redesign Health is a New York-based venture capital firm focused on building consumer health businesses to improve and enhance the patient care experience.
David M. Rubenstein is a leading figure in the private equity industry, co-founder of The Carlyle Group, and serves as a Director and Managing Director of The Carlyle Group.
David M. Rubenstein founded The Carlyle Group in 1987, and since then, it has grown into a global firm with 33 offices worldwide and over $91 billion in assets under management.
At the age of 68, David M. Rubenstein founded the family office Declaration Capital to continue his investment journey.