ElevenLabs, an AI audio startup, announced on Thursday, January 30, that it has secured $180M (nearly €173.45M) in a Series C funding round, bringing its post-money valuation to $3.3B (nearly €3.18B).
We had previously published the reported funding news, and the company has now confirmed the details. While the lead investors and valuation align with our earlier report, the total funding amount is lower than initially stated.
The current funding round was co-led by a16z and ICONIQ Growth, with additional new investors NEA, World Innovation Lab (WiL), Valor, Endeavor Catalyst Fund and Lunate.
Existing investors Sequoia Capital, Salesforce Ventures, Smash Capital, SV Angel, NFDG, and BroadLight Capital also participated in this round.
ElevenLabs is further partnering with strategic investors, including Deutsche Telekom, LG Technology Ventures, HubSpot Ventures, NTT DOCOMO Ventures, and RingCentral Ventures.
David George, general partner and head of a16z’s Growth Fund, says, “Voice is becoming a key part of how we interact with technology, and ElevenLabs is making it work at scale. We’re thrilled to continue to support their work in building the next generation of AI.”
Seth Pierrepont, General Partner at ICONIQ Growth, adds, “We believe ElevenLabs is redefining the way we connect with digital environments, placing voice at the very heart of these transformative interactions. We are thrilled to partner with such an innovative team and contribute to their extraordinary journey to help reshape the future of voice technology.”
Capital utilisation
ElevenLabs remains focused on AI research, particularly in audio generation, under the leadership of CTO Piotr Dąbkowski, a TIME Magazine AI Top 100 Innovator. Over the past year, the company has expanded from 30 to 120 employees, with key hubs in London, New York, and Warsaw.
ElevenLabs will use the funds to fuel advancements in AI audio, focusing on more expressive and controllable voice AI, developer tools, and AI safety. As the company expands into 2025, it aims to enhance collaboration, improve accessibility to its research, advance conversational AI, and bring its technology to mobile.
With a commitment to supporting all languages, accents, and dialects, the company is strengthening its presence in Asia, LATAM, and EMEA, working with strategic partners to refine its technology for global impact.
“Speech is how we naturally communicate. This funding moves us closer to a world where digital interactions happen by voice – fluid, natural, and as effortless as a conversation,” says Mati Staniszewski, CEO of ElevenLabs.
ElevenLabs is currently hiring for roles in research, engineering, and product.
Making content accessible in any language and voice
Founded in 2022 by Piotr Dąbkowski, a former Google machine learning engineer, and Mati Staniszewski, a former Palantir deployment strategist, ElevenLabs specialises in natural speech synthesis.
It is an AI audio company focused on creating technology for generating realistic and context-aware speech, voices, and sound effects in 32 languages. Its tools are designed for a range of users, including individuals, businesses, and creative professionals.
Applications include voicing audiobooks, animating characters, localising media, creating dynamic content, and supporting accessibility needs. The company emphasises safe development and deployment of its AI voice technology.
The company released its first beta product in January 2023 and gained traction, raising a $19M Series A in June 2023. Its product and research teams are based in Europe, including the UK, Poland and Hungary, while its US operations focus on sales and partnerships.
Prior to the current round, in January 2024, ElevenLabs secured $80M (nearly €73.46M) in a Series B round of funding.
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