Legato

About Legato

Legato Audio is a hearing technology company that develops AI-powered hearing glasses designed to be a discreet alternative to traditional hearing aids. The firm was established in late 2024 by co-founders Mehul Trivedi and Steve Romine and emerged from stealth in August 2026 with $12 million in funding from investors including Neotribe Ventures, Listen, and Village Global.

The founders bring significant experience from the audio and wearables sectors. Mehul Trivedi, the CEO, previously led the creation of Bose Frames and managed smart eyewear initiatives at EssilorLuxottica, working on products like the Meta Ray-Bans. Steve Romine ran the hearing aids division at Bose before serving as COO for hearing care company Audicus. Their collective background includes lobbying the FDA to establish the over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid category and launching the first device in that class.

Legato’s flagship product, Legato Frames, embeds the company's patented hearing-assistance technology into the arms of eyewear. The primary market consists of individuals with mild to moderate hearing loss who may be deterred by the cost, discomfort, or stigma associated with conventional hearing aids. The technology uses an AI-powered system to differentiate between voices and background noise, amplifying only the speech to improve clarity in noisy environments like restaurants. This approach differs from traditional hearing aids that often rely on directional microphones. The open-ear design includes a proprietary dual-speaker system that directs sound to the wearer while claiming to reduce sound leakage by 99%.

The company plans to launch Legato Frames in the fall of 2026, distributing them through its website and select eye-care providers. This sales channel is a core part of its strategy, as it may allow customers to use vision insurance, positioning the product as a fraction of the cost of traditional hearing aids. Legato holds four granted patents with over 20 additional applications pending for its technology. The firm competes in a growing market for hearing-enabled eyewear against products like EssilorLuxottica's Nuance Audio Glasses and Apple's FDA-cleared hearing features for AirPods.