ElevenLabs, an artificial intelligence (AI) company specializing in voice synthesis, has recently raised $80 million in Series B funding, propelling it to unicorn status with a valuation exceeding $1 billion. The funding round was spearheaded by several notable investors, including Andreessen Horowitz and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, alongside Daniel Gross, Sequoia Capital, SV Angel, Smash Capital, BroadLight Capital, and Credo Ventures. This financial milestone follows a prior $100 million valuation in June, bringing ElevenLabs’ total capital raised to $101 million.
ElevenLabs’ Mission and Vision
Mati Staniszewski, CEO and co-founder, reiterates the company’s commitment to revolutionizing content interaction by eliminating language and communication barriers. Based in London, ElevenLabs aims to develop state-of-the-art technology that makes content universally accessible, thereby allowing global audiences to engage with meaningful information and narratives.
The firm also announced imminent product enhancements, including a new dubbing studio, a voice library marketplace, and a sneak peek at their Mobile App reader, set to be launched in the following weeks.
Founders’ Background and Company Growth
Co-founded by Piotr Dabkowski and Staniszewski, both of Polish origin, ElevenLabs was inspired by the subpar dubbing of American films in Poland. Dabkowski, an ex-Google machine learning engineer, and Staniszewski, a former Palantir strategist, sought to create a superior voice platform. Since its debut in 2022, the platform has seen users generate over a century’s worth of audio content, and the company has grown from 5 to 40 employees, with its technology being utilized by 41% of Fortune 500 companies.
Challenges and Ethical Considerations
Despite its success, ElevenLabs faced challenges with the misuse of its technology during its beta phase, including the generation of offensive content by anonymous users. In response, the company implemented additional security measures, such as a $5 monthly subscription that requires a credit card for registration, to curb the creation of deepfake voices. There were also incidents of online harassment facilitated by the technology, leading to further scrutiny and the acknowledgment of misuse by the company.
ElevenLabs is part of an expanding industry exploring AI in voice technology, with competitors like Voice.ai also securing significant investment to advance their platforms.
