Press room

MINNEAPOLIS (November 8, 2018) — Starkey® Hearing Technologies is pleased to be a CES 2019 Innovation Award Honoree for its revolutionary Livio™ AI hearing aid. The CES Innovation Awards celebrate outstanding product design and engineering in brand-new consumer technology products. Livio AI joins an elite group of innovative consumer products to receive this prestigious honor. Its cutting-edge technology was recognized in the Awards’ Accessibility category, which is dedicated to products and services with innovative features that improve accessibility for seniors and persons with disabilities.

The announcement was made today during CES Unveiled New York, an invite-only tech event bringing together top media, exhibitors and industry leaders for a sneak peek of the products and trends expected at CES 2019, which will run January 8-11, 2019 in Las Vegas, NV.

“Starkey Hearing Technologies is driven by the vision, hear better, live better,” said Starkey President Brandon Sawalich. “Livio AI is the best-sounding hearing aid we’ve ever made. By pairing this innovative technology with integrated sensors and artificial intelligence, we’ve transformed the hearing aid into a revolutionary, multi-use device. Allowing people to track their brain and body health is truly helping people live better lives.”

The Consumer Technology Association uses an independent, three-member panel that judges products on engineering, design, intended function and user value. This is the fourth time Starkey Hearing Technologies has been named a CES Honoree.

Livio AI interfaces with a brand-new mobile app — Thrive™ Hearing and three new wireless accessories — the Starkey Hearing Technologies TV, the Remote and the Remote Microphone +. With the Remote Microphone +, Livio AI is also the first hearing aid to feature Amazon® Alexa connectivity.Hearing Reality™ technology reduces noisy environments by 50 percent, significantly reduces listening effort and enhances speech clarity, while artificial intelligence optimizes the hearing experience.

“Artificial intelligence is disrupting the world. Starkey Hearing Technologies is the company bringing it into the hearing industry,” said Achin Bhowmik Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer. “Starkey has done for hearing aids what Apple® did for phones. Before Apple, the phone was only used to make calls. Now your phone is a camera, GPS and a tool to browse the internet. Livio AI is no longer ‘just’ an incredible hearing aid. It’s a multi-functional device that tracks brain and body health, offers real-time language translation and soon will even detect falls. This is a new era for the hearing industry.”

This cutting-edge technology allows people to take a more proactive and personal approach to addressing their hearing losses.

Livio AI is available in the United States and Canada and expanding to more than 20 countries in 2019.

About Starkey Hearing Technologies
Starkey Hearing Technologies 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 Brandon Sawalich, Starkey is the only American-owned and operated provider of hearing technologies. The company has more than 5,000 employees, operates 24 facilities and does business in more than 100 markets worldwide. For more information, visit www.starkey.com.

About CES:
CES® is the world's gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. It has served as the proving ground for innovators and breakthrough technologies for 50 years — the global stage where next-generation innovations are introduced to the marketplace. As the largest hands-on event of its kind, CES features all aspects of the industry. Owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)TM, it attracts the world's business leaders and pioneering thinkers. Check out CES video highlights. Follow CES online at CES.tech and on social.

About Consumer Technology Association:
Consumer Technology Association (CTA)™ is the trade association representing the $377 billion U.S. consumer technology industry, which supports more than 15 million U.S. jobs. More than 2,200 companies – 80 percent are small businesses and startups; others are among the world’s best-known brands – enjoy the benefits of CTA membership including policy advocacy, market research, technical education, industry promotion, standards development and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CTA also owns and produces CES® – the world’s gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. Profits from CES are reinvested into CTA’s industry services.