ElevenLabs Raises $180M in Series C to Advance AI Voice Technology
AI audio company ElevenLabs has secured $180 million in Series C funding to enhance its voice technology, expand research, and develop new products that integrate speech into digital interactions. The investment round was co-led by a16z and ICONIQ Growth, with participation from investors like 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 have also increased their support. This latest funding triples ElevenLabs’ valuation to $3.3 billion, bringing its total funding to $281 million since its launch in 2022. The company is also partnering with strategic investors such as Deutsche Telekom, LG Technology Ventures, HubSpot Ventures, NTT DOCOMO Ventures, and RingCentral Ventures. A Rapidly Growing AI Voice Leader Since its 2023 platform launch, ElevenLabs has helped generate over 1,000 years of audio and has been adopted by employees at over 60% of Fortune 500 companies. Last year, ElevenLabs expanded its ElevenReader app with GenFM, a feature that converts documents into personalised AI-generated podcasts. GenFM transforms PDFs, articles, ebooks, and documents into audio content with AI-driven co-hosts. The feature allows for quick audio generation across 32 languages, supporting diverse use cases like commuting, studying, language learning, and multitasking, by transforming text into engaging, spoken-word content with adaptive summaries and AI-generated narration. The list of notable clients includes NVIDIA, ESPN, The Washington Post, Chess.com, Paradox Interactive, and Aston Martin Aramco F1. ElevenLabs is dedicated to making AI voice technology more inclusive through its Impact Program, which provides free access to its technology for organisations in accessibility, education, and culture. Over 1,000 individuals with speech impairments have regained their voices using ElevenLabs’ AI, with key partnerships including Bridging Voice and The Scott Morgan Foundation, which support individuals with ALS. In the cultural space, the company collaborated with KADIST and the Centre Pompidou in Paris to bring AI-generated plays to life. As part of its global expansion, ElevenLabs is establishing an R&D hub in Warsaw to foster AI talent in Central and Eastern Europe while also focusing on Indic language expansion in India, ensuring broader accessibility and engagement with its AI-powered solutions. ElevenLabs aims to advance AI voice technology further, ensuring more expressive and controllable AI voices while improving AI safety. As CEO Mati Staniszewski explains, “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.” The company is also scaling globally, working with partners in Asia, Latin America, and Europe to develop AI voice tools that reflect diverse languages, accents, and dialects.David George, general partner at a16z, emphasised ElevenLabs’ role in shaping AI-powered voice interactions: “Voice is becoming a key part of how we interact with technology, and ElevenLabs is making it work at scale.
This latest funding triples ElevenLabs’ valuation to $3.3 billion, bringing its total funding to $281 million since its launch in 2022.
This latest funding triples ElevenLabs' valuation to $3.3 billion, bringing its total funding to $281 million since its launch in 2022.
["AI", "Voice AI"]
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["AI", "Aim", "R", "Git", "API", "GAN", "AI safety", "innovation", "funding", "programming_languages:R"]
Shalini is a senior tech journalist, exploring the latest advancements in AI. When she's not reporting on the latest innovations, you can find her immersed in her next literary adventure.