What Olive Union does

Olive Union is a Seoul-founded (July 2016), Tokyo-headquartered hearing-technology company that develops and sells smart-earphone-form-factor Personal Sound Amplification Products (PSAPs) under a "HaaS (Hearing as a Service)" positioning, serving Japanese consumers with mild-to-moderate hearing loss and a nascent B2B corporate-wellness audience. The company operates in a Japanese hearing-aid market where adoption is only ~15% — well below Europe and North America — due to stigma, cost (typically ¥100,000–¥500,000 for medical hearing aids), and a one-month specialist-fitting cycle. The Japanese operating subsidiary, 株式会社Olive Union, was incorporated in May 2019 and relocated its headquarters from Meguro-ku to Taito-ku, Tokyo in March 2026; the Korean parent retains an Olive Center facility staffed by in-house audiologists who feed product development.

The consumer product portfolio comprises three devices — Olive Air (in-ear flagship with active noise cancellation), Olive Max (over-ear high-power with the lineup's maximum +62 dB acoustic gain), and Olive SmartEar Plus (compact earphone-style) — plus the FDA-cleared Olive Pro sold in the U.S. market. All products pair with the My Olive smartphone app for five-minute self-fitting (versus ~1 month specialist fitting for medical devices) and share the proprietary Voice Activity Detection (VAD) technology, Knowles high-performance microphones, OTA firmware updates, and the bundled Ear Brain Training app supervised by Prof. Ryuta Kawashima of Tohoku University. The flagship Olive Smart Ear Plus offers 64-channel processing and +50 dB gain at a ¥77,000 retail price point.

Revenue is generated primarily through one-time hardware sales distributed across the official online storefront, Amazon, Rakuten, Yahoo Shopping, and 800+ physical retail stores in Japan — including flagship eyewear-chain partnerships with Megane Super (305 stores) and Aigan (230 stores), plus Bic Camera and mobile-shop pilots. Secondary revenue streams include the Olive Max try-before-buy rental (¥3,980/month), the Olive Care extended warranty (77%+ attach rate at ¥5,000–¥10,000), accessory sales, and the B2B Olive Sounds Up corporate wellness program launched in March 2022 with Yoronotaki as the first enterprise customer. The company has raised over JPY 1.1 billion cumulatively, most recently in July 2023 from Maezawa Fund and other investors including Beyond Next Ventures, with capital earmarked for Japan and U.S. expansion.

Name

Olive Union

Legal name

株式会社Olive Union

Website

https://oliveunion.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Olive Union is a Tokyo-headquartered hearing-technology company that develops smart-earphone-form-factor Personal Sound Amplification Products — Olive Air, Olive Max, Olive SmartEar Plus, and FDA-cleared Olive Pro — for Japanese consumers with hearing loss and B2B corporate wellness clients, distributed across 800+ retail stores.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Consumer Hearing Amplifiers (Personal Sound Amplification Products)

NAICS

Electromedical and Electrotherapeutic Apparatus Manufacturing (334510), Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists (62134)

SIC

Electromedical & Electrotherapeutic Apparatus (3845), Household Audio & Video Equipment (3651)

akta.pro primary industry

Hearing Enhancement / Assistive Listening Audio Devices (CRACANAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Hearables (True Wireless Earbuds & Smart Headphones) (CRACAIAD)

Keywords

• Hearing amplifiers
• Smart hearing aids
• Personal sound amplification
• Hearing wellness programs
• Earphone-style PSAPs

Headquarters

HQ city

Seocho

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Hardware sales (one-time purchase): Direct one-time purchase of smart earphone hearing amplifiers such as Olive Smart Ear Plus (77,000 yen tax-incl.) and Olive Max. Sold via own EC, Amazon, Rakuten, Yahoo Shopping, and retail partners.
2. Monthly subscription (Olive Smart Ear Plus plan): Monthly rental/subscription plan for Olive Smart Ear Plus at 5,390 yen/month (both ears). First piloted at Bic Camera Yurakucho and Tachikawa stores in August 2022 as the first subscription offering by an electronics retailer. Note: monthly fixed-rate plan suspended for new sign-ups.
3. Try-before-buy rental service (Olive Max): Rental trial service for Olive Max at 3,980 yen/month; users can convert to full purchase if satisfied. Targets hesitant buyers who want to verify fit and amplification in real-life scenarios before committing.
4. B2B corporate wellness program (Olive Sounds Up): Enterprise program offering 'Hearing and Health' seminars plus product free-trial and special corporate pricing. Companies include Yoronotaki as pilot. Separate corporate website and inquiry funnel; pricing customized per enterprise.
5. Extended warranty (Olive Care): Optional paid extended warranty 'Olive Care': 10,000 yen for Olive Max (2 years from arrival); 5,000 yen for Olive Smart Ear Plus. Approximately 77%+ of buyers enroll. Source of recurring attach revenue.
6. Accessory sales (Olive Remote): Olive Remote dedicated remote-control accessory sold at 6,820 yen (tax-incl.) after January 30, 2026 price revision from 2,000 yen, reflecting raw material and shipping cost increases.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Olive Union designs, manufactures and sells smart-earphone-form-factor hearing amplifiers (Personal Sound Amplification Products) — Olive Air, Olive Max, and Olive SmartEar Plus — paired with the My Olive smartphone app for self-fitting in 5 minutes. The company also runs the Olive Sounds Up B2B corporate hearing wellness program offering seminars and subsidized device access to employers, and bundles the Ear Brain Training app (supervised by Prof. Ryuta Kawashima) on every consumer device.

Product overview

Olive Union markets a portfolio of consumer 'sound collectors' (集音器 / Personal Sound Amplification Products) plus an enterprise program and a brain-training service, sold as a unified HaaS (Hearing as a Service) platform. The current consumer lineup is anchored by the flagship Olive Air (in-ear, ANC-enabled), the high-power over-ear Olive Max, and the established earphone-style Olive SmartEar Plus — all sharing the same My Olive smartphone-app personalization layer and bundled 'Ear Brain Training' content. Surrounding the hardware are the Olive Sounds Up corporate wellness program, the dedicated Olive Remote control, the certified-refurbished (認定整備品) channel, and the Ear Brain Training Meister System that certifies retail sales staff.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Olive Air (オリーブエアー): In-ear / earbud-style hearing-assist device with active noise cancellation; latest flagship combining Olive Max's power with the Olive SmartEar Plus design.
• Olive Max (オリーブマックス)
• Olive SmartEar Plus (オリーブスマートイヤープラス)
• Olive Pro (オリーブプロ)
• Olive Sounds Up (オリーブサウンドアップ)

Products and services

• Olive Air Latest-generation in-ear smart hearing amplifier (集音器 / PSAP) that fuses Olive Max's powerful volume output with Olive SmartEar Plus's refined wireless-earphone design; features active noise cancellation (ANC), comfortable fit, and one-touch personalization via the My Olive app. Sold to consumers seeking a stylish, dual-use earphone/hearing-amplifier.
• Olive Max Over-ear (耳掛け式) high-power smart hearing amplifier with the series' maximum +62 dB acoustic gain, designed for users needing more amplification across a wider hearing-loss range. Supports self-fit sound adjustment via the My Olive app or the dedicated Olive Remote accessory; offers directional sound collection. Suitable for senior users who prefer remote-control operation.
• Olive SmartEar Plus Compact wireless earbud-style smart hearing amplifier with 64-channel processing, Voice Activity Detection (VAD), and My Olive app-based 5-minute self-fitting. Max acoustic gain +50 dB. Series accumulated 80,000+ units sold. Sold outright for 77,000 yen (tax incl.) per pair with a pilot monthly subscription plan at 5,390 yen/month.
• Olive Pro FDA-cleared bilateral smart earphone (successor to the original Olive Smart Ear) with Bluetooth pairing for calls, TV viewing, and music. Smartphone-based 5-minute self-fitting replaces the typical one-month specialist fitting cycle. Sold via U.S. Indiegogo crowdfunding and in the Japanese market.
• Olive Remote Dedicated remote-control accessory sold for Olive Max at 6,820 yen (tax incl.) after the January 30, 2026 price revision (up from 2,000 yen). Allows users — particularly those less comfortable with smartphones — to control their Olive Max hearing amplifier.
• Olive Care Extended Warranty Optional paid extended warranty: 10,000 yen for Olive Max (2 years from arrival) or 5,000 yen for Olive SmartEar Plus. More than 77% of product buyers enroll. Available only at initial product purchase, not separately renewable.
• Olive Sounds Up Corporate Wellness Program B2B workplace hearing-wellness program combining 'Hearing and Health' seminars (with Prof. Katsuhisa Ikeda of Juntendo University) and product free-trial plus special corporate pricing on Olive Smart Ear Plus devices. Targeted at enterprises with senior workforces (e.g., restaurant chain Yoronotaki as first customer). Pricing customized per enterprise; sales via dedicated corporate website and inquiry form.
• Ear Brain Training Meister System Four-tier sales-staff certification program for eyeglass stores and mass retailers across Japan, certifying staff expertise on the Ear Brain Training app and product knowledge to help consumers select appropriate hearing aids amid Japan's growing hearing-aid market.

Quantifiable outcome

• 80,000+ units sold worldwide cumulatively
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Megane Super (株式会社メガネスーパー)flagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPilot sales started May 2020 at 9 Megane Super stores, expanded to 16 stores in August 2020, then rolled out nationwide on October 22, 2020 across 305 stores (including affiliated stores). First eyewear-chain distribution partnership. Olive Smart Ear also available on Megane Super's online store with exclusive WEB pricing and Megane Super warranty.
• Aigan (愛眼株式会社, 'メガネのアイガン')flagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership announced November 26, 2020 to distribute Olive Smart Ear across all 230 Aigan stores nationwide. Brought total retail touchpoints to 1,062 stores, with eyewear/hearing-aid chains representing roughly half.
• Bic Camera (株式会社ビックカメラ)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBic Camera Yurakucho (6F Contact Corner) and Bic Camera Tachikawa (B1F Contact Corner) began test-selling the Olive Smart Ear Plus monthly subscription plan on August 1, 2022 — a first for any electronics retailer. Pilot locations: Yurakucho (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) and Tachikawa (Tachikawa-shi, Tokyo).
• Tohoku University Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer — Prof. Ryuta Kawashima (川島隆太教授)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProf. Kawashima supervises Olive Union's proprietary 'Ear Brain Training' (耳脳トレーニング) program embedded free on all Olive products. The program is grounded in his neuroscience research on simultaneous stimulation of hearing and brain function (focus, memory).
• Juntendo University — Prof. Katsuhisa Ikeda (池田勝久教授)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProf. Ikeda (Honorary Professor, Juntendo University Senior Medical Center) provides expert medical support for Olive Union's product development and corporate 'Hearing and Health' seminars; also partnered in joint operation of 'Kikoen no Kensyukai' (hearing seminars) at Juntendo. Endorsed as a senior medical advisor.
• Prof. Rui Nouchi (野内類教授)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProf. Nouchi listed among Olive Union's named industry-leading supporters contributing medical expertise to product development.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Apple: Apple integrated clinical-grade hearing aid features into AirPods Pro 2 (FDA-cleared) in 2024. AirPods reach hundreds of millions of users and can absorb the consumer PSAP category, making Apple the most consequential competitor — and validation of the category — for Olive Union.
• Sonova (Phonak): Sonova owns Phonak, Unitron, and Hansaton — global hearing-aid leaders with established audiologist channels. Represents the traditional medical-device incumbent that Olive's smart-earphone positioning explicitly disrupts.
• Demant (Oticon): Demant owns Oticon, Bernafon, Sonic, and Philips Hearing Solutions — another top-3 global hearing-aid incumbent. Like Sonova and WSA, Demant represents the established medical-device channel whose audiology-led model Olive is bypassing.
• WS Audiology (Widex, Signia): WS Audiology owns Widex and Signia, two of the world's largest hearing-aid brands. Competes in the regulated medical hearing-aid channel that Olive is positioned against as a PSAP alternative, particularly relevant given WSA's global retail reach into Asian markets.

Emerging players

• Lexie Hearing: Lexie Hearing sells FDA-cleared OTC hearing aids direct-to-consumer in the US, including a Bose-powered model. Targets the same self-fit, stigma-free, low-cost user that Olive's smart-earphone line addresses, and represents a strong comparable in DTC hearing-aid go-to-market.

Direct peers

• Nuheara: Nuheara (ASX: NUH) sells IQbuds and IQbuds2 Max — true wireless earbuds with active noise cancellation and hearing personalization. Closest like-for-like PSAP-to-smart-earbud product comparable to Olive's positioning.
• Jabra (GN Hearing): Jabra Enhance Plus is a true-wireless earbud-style hearing enhancement device, directly comparable in form factor and target user (mild-to-moderate hearing loss) to Olive's smart earphone line. Backed by GN Hearing's audiology heritage, Jabra is the closest direct Western analog.
• Eargo: Eargo is a US DTC hearing aid company selling invisible, app-tunable, direct-to-consumer hearing devices. While Eargo is more medical-grade (FDA-cleared prescription hearing aids) and Olive is positioned as PSAP, both pursue the same anti-stigma, self-fitting, no-audiologist model.
• Sony: Sony launched CRE-C10 and CRE-E10 self-fitting OTC hearing aids in the US, explicitly targeting the same smart, app-tuned, stigma-free form factor as Olive. Sony brings consumer-electronics brand power, retail distribution, and aggressive pricing into Olive's exact category.
• Bose: Bose launched SoundControl hearing aids (FDA-cleared) and is developing next-gen hearable products. Bose's audio engineering, retail presence, and global brand make it a direct competitor in the smart, app-driven, consumer-grade hearing amplifier category where Olive operates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/olive_union
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCERh4BvTDy1raIQjUpYbqCQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/people/Olive-Union-JPN/100083407988983
• Instagraminstagram.com/oliveunionjapan

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds8 records

Investors6 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Olive Union