AudioFocus YC Application
AudioFocus went through Y Combinator in the Summer 2019 batch as a Healthcare company. Below: what the company does, who founded it, and its application to YC, reconstructed question by question in the real YC form.
- YC batch
- Summer 2019
- Industry
- HealthcareMedical Devices
- Team size
- 4
- Status
- Active
- Launched
- 2019
Founders
Shariq MobinFounder
What AudioFocus does
If we've learned anything in the last few years it's that spending time with our friends and family is essential to our well-being and happiness. Unfortunately, loud and noisy places like weddings and family gatherings hinder human connection, especially for the hearing impaired. In fact, the biggest unmet need in the entire hearing healthcare industry is hearing in noisy places. AudioFocus helps patients hear in these environments by only enhancing voices nearby the patients and ignoring ones farther away. We do this using acoustics informed machine learning and custom microphone array design. Our goal is to increase the adoption rate of 37M US adults with hearing loss, only 8M use hearing aids today. Founded by Auditory Neuroscientist & AI expert and a Hearing Aid hardware design expert.
AudioFocus's YC application, reconstructed
Y Combinator application
AudioFocus, Summer 2019 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.
- Founders2
- Company7
- Progress7
- Idea4
- Equity3
- Curious2
- Batch Preference1
Company
AudioFocus
Hearing aids that work in noisy places
We make hearing aids that help people hear conversations clearly in noisy environments like restaurants or family gatherings. Our product filters out distant noise and enhances nearby voices using acoustics-informed ML combined with a custom microphone array designed specifically for this purpose.
We live in Oakland, CA, and plan to base the company here after YC.
We're based in Oakland because our team is here and we have access to nearby research institutions supporting our work in auditory neuroscience and machine learning. This location allows us to focus full-time on product development and user testing locally.
21 more answers in the full application
Founders, Progress, Idea, Equity, Curious, Batch Preference are in the full version. Create a free account to open it in YC Insights, next to every other YC batch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this the real AudioFocus YC application?
No. Y Combinator keeps submitted applications private. This is a reconstruction: the real YC form questions, answered from AudioFocus's public data (launch notes, founder backgrounds, product description). It shows how a company like AudioFocus would present itself to YC, not the text they submitted.
What YC batch was AudioFocus in?
AudioFocus was part of the Y Combinator Summer 2019 batch.
Who founded AudioFocus?
AudioFocus was founded by Shariq Mobin.
What does AudioFocus do?
Hearing aids that work in noisy places, like restaurants, using ML.
How do I read the full reconstructed application?
Create a free Round Funded account. The full 26-answer version of AudioFocus's application, and every other YC batch, is in YC Insights.
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