It’s a young coupling with declared values: be bold; be real; be nimble; be curious. Hearing health pioneers Eargo, and hearX, maker of Lexie hearing aids, sum only 25 years between them in the marketplace, but they have announced a merger, the issue of which will be christened LXE Hearing.

“Together, we are going to revolutionise hearing aids and hearing health,” says hearX CEO and co-founder Nic Klopper, who will serve as CEO for LXE Hearing. Eargo’s COO and interim CEO Bill Brownie will be COO.

They can celebrate the union with financial backing of a $100 million investment from Patient Square Capital.

 

One company; two brands

 

LXE Hearing will operate as one company with its two established consumer hearing aid brands, Eargo and Lexie Hearing. The new company has the stated objective of setting a new standard for the industry: marrying Eargo’s and Lexie’s award-winning credentials in design, device features, sound technology and mobile platforms – to the background of the company’s customer-first ethos. LXE Hearing will also be combining product technology platforms and Customer Relationship Management systems to create a more streamlined experience for all their business partners, reads the announcement. And LXE points to an endorsement of “more than 52 peer-reviewed articles validating the technology along with 68 patents”.

“The merger between Lexie and Eargo is founded on our shared mission to create hearing health solutions for everyone, everywhere,” said Klopper. “Eargo’s cutting-edge design, emphasis on clinical quality and customer-first approach to service perfectly complement hearX’s suite of Bose-powered products and its award-winning mobile app.”

Lexie Hearing was established by hearX in 2020, quickly – according to the Circana, LLC, Retail Tracking Service, US Dollar and Unit Sales, Aug 2023 – July 2024 –  becoming the number one OTC hearing aid brand in the U.S.

“hearX and Lexie Hearing are a natural complement to Eargo,” said COO Brownie. “The combination of our experience, talent and technology will make hearing health solutions more accessible and affordable for the estimated 44 million American adults who experience hearing loss.”

 

The $100 million from Patient Square Capital reflects investor confidence in the direct-to-patient hearing market, which continues to upend the traditional prescription model, says LXE.

“The vast majority of American adults who suffer from hearing loss currently do not use hearing aids given historical barriers to access and shortcomings with traditional offerings,” said Justin Sabet-Peyman, Partner at Patient Square. “We believe that LXE Hearing’s innovative technology and unique go-to-market approach, enhanced by the synergies of the business combination, will provide unprecedented solutions to patients in need of hearing care.”

Source: PR Newswire