The Virto R Infinio and Infinio Ultra Sphere were recognized for leveraging AI to improve speech clarity and reduce background noise.
Phonak announced that its Virto R Infinio and Infinio Ultra Sphere hearing aids have been named winners in the 2026 Artificial Intelligence Excellence Awards, presented by the Business Intelligence Group (BIG).
The annual awards program recognizes organizations and products that apply artificial intelligence to drive measurable impact. Both Phonak devices earned recognition in the health category for using AI to dynamically enhance speech clarity and reduce background noise in various listening environments.
“This recognition reinforces our commitment to developing intelligent hearing solutions that automatically adapt to changing sound environments,” says Oliver Frank, vice president of Phonak marketing, in a release. “By applying AI in meaningful ways, we’re empowering people with hearing loss to communicate more effortlessly in the real world.”
AI-Driven Sound Processing
The two awarded products utilize AI in distinct ways to process sound for the user.
The Phonak Virto R Infinio uses AI to identify the listening environment, such as a quiet room or a noisy setting, and automatically adjusts hearing aid settings in real time. The system optimizes features like noise reduction and microphone directionality to adapt to the user’s surroundings.
The Phonak Infinio Ultra Sphere uses AI to directly process the sound signal through a deep neural network. This technology works to separate speech from background noise, enhancing the speech signal itself rather than only adjusting device settings.
This latest award follows other recent accolades for the products. Since its launch in 2025, the Virto R Infinio has received a 2026 iF Design Award, a 2025 Hearing Health & Technology Matters (HHTM) Hearing Technology Innovator Award, and a 2026 BIG Innovation Award. The Infinio Ultra Sphere also received a 2026 iF Design Award.
