AI is rapidly transforming hearing technology, and Femtosense is at the forefront of this shift. Sam Fok, co-founder and CEO of FemtoSense, discusses the company’s AI-driven chip technology and its applications in hearing aids, earbuds, and other audio devices.
FemtoSense, founded in 2018 out of Stanford University, specializes in neuromorphic engineering, a method that mimics the brain’s efficiency to enable AI processing on low-power devices. Their AI chip optimizes speech separation and noise reduction while maintaining battery efficiency—critical for hearing devices that operate within strict power constraints.
Fok highlights how hearing aids are becoming an arena for cutting-edge AI innovation, similar to how Deep Learning transformed computing. With AI-driven real-time speech enhancement, modern hearing aids can now improve the clarity of conversations in noisy environments, addressing one of the biggest barriers to adoption.
As AI capabilities advance, hearing aids are shifting from simple preset sound adjustments to adaptive, real-time sound processing, providing a more personalized and effective hearing experience.
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Intro
01:02 Femtosense - background
03:56 Challenges of embedding AI into earbuds and hearing aids
07:58 Audio processing in the AI era
11:13 Hardware or software - what's driving innovation?
14:38 Technology step change for hearing aid industry
19:19 More intelligent hearing aids
22:06 How does the future look as chips get smarter?