

HEARGLASS changes life for the hearing impaired:
Problem: world is growing deafer while hearing aids (“HA”s) underperform
- 36MM Americans suffer from disabling hearing loss
- 33% over 65 and 67% over 75 suffer from hearing loss
Today’s HAs: sound distorted, ambient noise poorly filtered, tuning requires audiologist and batteries an expensive nuisance
HEARGLASS: disruptive wearable device that incorporates full audio spectrum HiFi HAs into eyeglasses, allowing for a directional hearing experience superior to traditional HAs. Bluetooth/WiFi capabilities allow for hands-free music streaming, telephony, voice-activated commands and on-the-fly setting changes
Key complaints with today’s HAs
- Distortion from truncated audio spectrum
- Hard to hear amid ambient noise
- Limited/no user tunability
- Expensive and nonrechargeable batteries
- Missed audio lost forever
- High ~$4K avg cost + batteries and loss
HEARGLASS Solution
- Preserves full HiFi audio spectrum
- Directional mic
- Easy user tuning, also remote-tunable
- Rechargeable battery packs
- Patented “What?” button replay
- Direct, retail, and subscription service/sales models
Target Markets:
- Begin with dissatisfied HA owners, early adopters, and music lovers
- NIH estimates 28.8MM US adults could benefit from using HAs
- Worldwide HA sales in 2015 exceeded $20Bn, with 500MM people hearing impaired
Sales/Marketing Strategy:
- PR, digital marketing channels and influencer endorsement
- Multichannel distribution/service opportunities
- OEM technology licensing for 3rd party product incorporation
- Partnering opportunities with eyeglass/HA and healthcare industries, AR/VR OEMs
Primary Competitors Ripe for Disruption: 6 high-end HA makers with relatively stagnant technology and costly distribution.
- Speaker, mics and batteries sacrifice performance when miniaturized in today’s “smaller-is-better” HA trend
- Glasses have ample space for powerful hardware and batteries,; better sensors, Bluetooth/WiFi, telephony, other capabilities
- HEARGLASS offers superior audio range/quality, telephony, Bluetooth/WiFi connectivity, and new market opportunities
Key Team:
- Peter Sprague: Chairman – National Semiconductor, Aston Martin, Advent Corporation and Wave Systems
- Janet Baker: Founder Dragon Systems, developed speech recognition dictation technology, in Apple Siri, etc
- Nolan Bushnell: Atari, Inc. and Chuck-E-Cheese founder, author of “Finding the Next Steve Jobs”
- Wayne Boyle: Turtle Beach Dir. of Engineering; 28 years inventing solutions for complex audio problems
- Jason Chang: Private equity investor Bateleur Capital, investment banking Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley
Company Profile:
hearglass.com
Industry: Wearable Computing
Founded: 2014
Contact:
Peter Sprague, Chairman
peter@sprague.com
+1.917.667.4773
HEARGLASS Status:
- Working Prototypes Rev. 4
- Initial User Feedback Positive
- Patents issued/Pending
- Seeking Capital: $4-7MM
- Angel/Institution Investors
- UOP: Advanced R&D, S&M
Team:
- Peter Sprague
- Janet Baker, Ph.D.
- Nolan Bushnell
- Wayne Boyle
- David Berten, J.D.
- Jason Chang
- Jan Dauman,Ph.D.
- Peter Frishauf
- Rasmus Holm-Jorgensen
- Mary Howard
- Andrew Resnick Au.D