ElevenLabs raises $180M in Series C round co-led by a16z, ICONIQ Growth
The US-based firm is expanding its footprint in India by investing in AI talent and development.
Voice AI startup ElevenLabs has raised $180 million in a Series C funding round co-led by a16z and ICONIQ Growth, with participation from new investors NEA, World Innovation Lab (WiL), Valor, Endeavor Catalyst Fund, and Lunate.
Existing backers, including Sequoia Capital, Salesforce Ventures, Smash Capital, SV Angel, NFDG, and BroadLight Capital, also participated in the round.
The US-based firm is expanding its footprint in India by investing in AI talent and development; it counts India as one of the fastest-growing AI hubs for consumer and business applications.
ElevenLabs has appointed a local leadership team and is building a team to serve its customers and partners in the region. Its investments in India include localising technology capabilities, expanding coverage for Indic languages, and growing its voice library.
Last year, Lightspeed-backed audio platform Pocket FM teamed up with ElevenLabs to leverage AI in turning text-based content, including scripts, into audio series.
Founded by ex-Google machine learning engineer Piotr Dąbkowski and Mateusz Staniszewski, ElevenLabs develops AI audio tools for creators, media, and businesses. The company plans to use the fresh capital to advance research in voice AI, enhance tools for developers and businesses scaling globally, and strengthen AI safety.
“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,” said Mati Staniszewski, CEO of ElevenLabs.
The latest funding values ElevenLabs at $3.3 billion, triple its valuation a year ago, and brings its total funding to $281 million across four rounds since its launch in 2022.
“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," said David George, General Partner and Head of a16z's Growth Fund.
Since launching in January 2023, ElevenLabs has expanded its offerings with products such as Conversational AI for real-time speech and the ElevenReader, a mobile app. Over the past year, it has rolled out several tools for speech generation, voice design, and AI dubbing in 32 languages.
These technologies are being used across sectors for content creation, customer support, gaming, education, and accessibility. , , InVideo AI, Wondershare, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic are some of its customers.
This year, ElevenLabs is expanding to mobile, advancing conversational AI, and supporting global languages while deepening its reach in Asia, LATAM, and EMEA.
"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," said Seth Pierrepont, General Partner at ICONIQ Growth.
The company is US-incorporated with offices in London, New York, and Warsaw.
Edited by Swetha Kannan