Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Hearing-health startup TympaHealth raised $23 million in Series A funding, CEO Krishan Ramdoo tells Axios exclusively.
Why it's the BFD: Roughly 1 in 5 U.S. residents over age 12 has hearing loss and the condition's prevalence rises with age, but Medicare doesn't cover hearing aids or aid-fitting exams.
Deal details: Octopus Ventures led the round with support from new backers Dara Capital, Rezayat and individual investors Bob Davis and Jeff Leerink, as well as previous investors.
- London-based Tympa will use the capital to expand in the U.S. and has named former Oticon executive David Horowitz vice president of sales for the country.
- Ramdoo expects the company to raise its Series B in 2024.
How it works: Tympa serves roughly 28,000 patients a month by training a range of providers to perform virtual hearing assessments and diagnostics, which are then logged in its homegrown electronic health record.
- In the U.K., the company provides its hardware and software on a £200 ($248) monthly subscription basis to organizations including Walgreens Boots Alliance, Sonova, Bupa and the British National Health Service (NHS).
- At roughly 100 pharmacies, pharmacists use Tympa's tech to conduct hearing assessments and diagnostics.
- The company has plans to publish more in peer-reviewed medical journals, says Ramdoo.
- In 2022, it published a small study in The Journal of Laryngology and Otology concluding that medical students could use its smartphone-enabled video otoscopes to conduct ear exams and do wax removal.
What's next: In the U.S., Tympa is targeting primary care settings, retailers and pharmacies.
- "Our secret sauce is the digital platform," Ramdoo tells Axios.
Of note: Several studies, including a 2020 international review published in The Lancet, place hearing loss among a dozen other modifiable risk factors for dementia — meaning early intervention may offer some protection against the disease.
The backstory: A practicing ear nose and throat surgeon for the NHS, Ramdoo had a "lightbulb moment" to start Tympa after participating in its clinical entrepreneurship program and seeing a patient's life changed dramatically by a hearing aid.
- "When I followed up six months later, she was a completely new person," says Ramdoo.
What they're saying: Octopus Ventures partner and Tympa investor Joe Stringer sees equal market-capturing potential for the startup in the U.K. and U.S.
- "It’s a wide open competitive landscape," Stringer says. "It's a perfect storm with end-users who are willing to pay, professionals who want to use it to make themselves more efficient, plus product market fit."
State of play: An FDA decision last summer to move hearing aids over the counter has pushed startups and large tech companies toward the hearing health market, expected to generate $12 billion in sales by 2031, per a recent Kenneth Research report.
- Hybrid hearing care startup Yes Hearing last fall collected $10 million in Series A funds led by Blue Heron Capital.
- Employer-facing hearing support startup Tuned last fall debuted with $2.5 million in seed capital.
- Apple in 2021 began studying AirPods' potential as hearing aids and more recently made them usable as such.Hearing health startup TympaHealth raised $23 million in Series A funding, CEO Krishan Ramdoo tells Axios exclusively.
Why it matters: Roughly 1 in 5 U.S. residents over age 12 has hearing loss and the condition's prevalence rises with age — but Medicare doesn't cover hearing aids or aid-fitting exams.
Deal details: Octopus Ventures led the round with support from new backers Dara Capital, Rezayat and individual investors Bob Davis and Jeff Leerink, as well as previous investors.
- London-based Tympa will use the capital to expand in the U.S. and has named former Oticon executive David Horowitz vice president of sales for the country.
- Ramdoo expects the company to raise its Series B in 2024.
How it works: Tympa serves roughly 28,000 patients a month by training a range of providers to perform virtual hearing assessments and diagnostics, which are then logged in its homegrown electronic health record.
- In the U.K., the company provides its hardware and software on a £200 ($248) monthly subscription basis to organizations including Walgreens Boots Alliance, Sonova, Bupa and the British National Health Service (NHS).
- At roughly 100 pharmacies, pharmacists use Tympa's tech to conduct hearing assessments and diagnostics.
- The company has plans to publish more in peer-reviewed medical journals, says Ramdoo.
- In 2022 it published a small study in The Journal of Laryngology and Otology concluding that medical students could use its smartphone-enabled video otoscopes to conduct ear exams and do wax removal.
What's next: In the U.S., Tympa is targeting primary care settings, retailers and pharmacies.
- "Our secret sauce is the digital platform," says Ramdoo.
Of note: Several studies place hearing loss among a dozen other modifiable risk factors for dementia, including a 2020 international review published in The Lancet — meaning intervening early may offer some protection against the disease.
The backstory: A practicing ear nose and throat (ENT) surgeon for the NHS, Ramdoo had a "lightbulb moment" to start Tympa after participating in its clinical entrepreneurship program and seeing a patient's life changed dramatically by a hearing aid.
- "When I followed up six months later, she was a completely new person," Ramdoo recalls.
What they're saying: Octopus Ventures partner and Tympa investor Joe Stringer sees equal market-capturing potential for the startup in the U.K. and U.S.
- "It’s a wide open competitive landscape," Stringer says. "It's a perfect storm with end-users who are willing to pay, professionals who want to use it to make themselves more efficient, plus product market fit."
State of play: An FDA decision last summer to move hearing aids over the counter (OTC) has pushed startups and large tech companies toward the hearing health market, expected to generate $12 billion in sales by 2031, per a recent Kenneth Research report.
- Hybrid hearing care startup Yes Hearing last fall collected $10 million in Series A funds led by Blue Heron Capital.
- Employer-facing hearing support startup Tuned last fall debuted with $2.5 million in seed capital.
- Apple in 2021 began studying AirPods' potential as hearing aids and more recently made them usable as such.
