In March, after Doppler Labs hired a new chief scientist, it put together a team of half-dozen people that cofounder and CEO Noah Kraft soon started calling the Avengers. The team, under the leadership of the company’s new chief scientist, Jim Pitkow, included experts in audiology and machine learning – and accessibility. A key goal: To prepare the smart-earbud startup for the hoped-for passage of a bill that would allow hearing aids for those with mild-to-moderate hearing loss to be sold over the counter in drugstores across the country, similarly to reading glasses.
