Press room

Eden Prairie, Minnesota, October 19, 2020 – Starkey’s Livio Edge AI hearing aids and Thrive Care App have each earned first place in their respective categories in the 2020 Hearing Technology Innovator Awards. Livio Edge AI won the Hearing Aids category. Thrive Care clinched the Assistive Technology and Software category. Winners were decided through an online voting process, during which more than 15,000 votes were cast.

“At Starkey, we are revolutionizing hearing healthcare and making the impossible possible through innovative technology,” said Starkey Owner and Chairman Bill Austin. “Livio AI was the industry’s first hearing aid with embedded motion sensors and artificial intelligence. Livio Edge AI pushed the platform even further, by putting the power of Edge AI at a patient’s fingertips. As we celebrate this success today, we are hard at work making tomorrow even better.”

Released in February 2020, Starkey’s Livio Edge AI hearing aids use artificial intelligence to optimize for speech understanding. With a simple double tap, Edge Mode instantaneously conducts an AI-based analysis of the acoustic environment and makes immediate adjustments. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it has proven to be highly effective in resolving speech intelligibility challenges created by face masks. When a wearer is communicating with someone wearing a face mask, Edge Mode accounts for the impact of mask type, social distance and background noise to the acoustic signal and delivers greatly enhanced speech audibility and clarity.

Starkey’s Thrive Care App allows wearers to share helpful information, like physical activity, hearing aid usage and social engagement, with pre-selected people. It provides peace of mind to family and friends, while helping the hearing aid user maintain confidence and independence.

“I’d like to send my sincere thanks to the many, many people who took the time to give Starkey a vote of confidence in this awards competition,” said Starkey President and CEO Brandon Sawalich. “This recognition illustrates the trusting partnerships we have developed across the hearing industry over the past 50 years. We do not take those partnerships for granted. Together, we will lead the industry into the next decade and beyond.”

For more information on Starkey products and services, click here.

About Starkey
Starkey is a privately held, global hearing technology company headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Founded by Bill Austin in 1967, Starkey is known for its innovative design, development and distribution of comprehensive digital hearing systems. Led today by President and CEO Brandon Sawalich, Starkey is the only American-owned provider of hearing technologies. The company has more than 5,000 employees, operates 26+ facilities and does business in more than 100 markets worldwide. Learn more at starkey.com.