LinkedIn · Aug 2024
Shariq Mobin announced that AudioFocus was selected for NIA funding through Johns Hopkins and the a2 Collective, confirming ongoing research support for the company.
Hearing aids that work in noisy places, like restaurants, using ML.
Company research
Public company, workplace, funding, and market signals
Updated Jul 29, 2026
Overview
AudioFocus is a 2019 Oakland-area hearing-tech startup building ML-powered hearing aids that selectively amplify nearby voices in noisy environments using echo-statistics-based sound selection, custom microphone arrays, and low-power AI hardware.
Primary product
ML-powered hearing aids for noisy places
Founded
2019
Headquarters
Oakland, California, United States
Team size
1-10
Industry
Medical Equipment Manufacturing
Sub-industry
Assistive hearing technology / hearing aids
Offices
Oakland, California, United States
Business model
medical device hardware
embedded ML software
Funding
Stage
seed
Total raised
$150K
Latest round
Corporate Round · Dec 2019
Dec 2019
Aug 2019 · Y Combinator
People & investors
Work & culture
The public site describes the team as close-knit and resourceful, with a care-first, control-oriented, and privacy-conscious approach.
Product & market
Differentiators
- —Amplifies nearby and important voices rather than generic speech/noise
- —Uses echo statistics / distance cues as the core signal
- —Custom microphone array optimized for noisy social settings
- —Low-power wearable ASIC direction
- —Privacy-oriented data augmentation without data farming
Technology
machine learning
deep learning
echo-statistics-based voice selection
custom microphone array
custom ASIC processor
low-power AI processors
Floyd ray-tracing auralization framework
AWS cloud GPUs
Competitors
Eargo
Amplifon
Widex
WS Audiology
Starkey
Audicus
ReSound
Envoy Medical
Scale & contact
Estimated revenue
≈$6M estimated ARR (2024)
Estimated monthly visits
1.9K
Traffic estimate as of Jul 2026
Latest news
a2 Collective · Jul 2024
Program announcement for NIA-backed AI and aging pilot funding; useful context for AudioFocus's 2024 grant announcement and research trajectory.
Hacker News · Jul 2023
Founder post describing a behind-the-ear prototype, a pilot study, and the product vision for hearing speech in noisy places.
Patch / HLAA East Bay Chapter · Dec 2019
Early public talk by Shariq Mobin explaining the company's research goals, demo/contact details, and the noisy-speech problem it aims to solve.
UC Berkeley IPIRA
University research profile describing the deep-learning, binaural-cue-based approach AudioFocus was developing in collaboration with Berkeley-linked research.
Jobs and careers at AudioFocus
0 jobs at AudioFocus
No open positions
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