ElevenLabs Now Valued at $22 Billion as Voice AI Firm Expands
Voice AI company ElevenLabs, generating around $600 million in annual revenue, is reportedly valued at $22 billion by investors. CEO Mati Staniszewski discussed competition, clients and AI transparency in a recent interview.
ElevenLabs, the company behind AI models that convert text into human-like speech, is reportedly valued at $22 billion by its investors, despite being only four years old. The company says it is generating close to $600 million in annual recurring revenue.
Its voice technology powers customer service operations for companies including Klarna, Deutsche Telekom, Cisco and Adobe, as well as a growing number of government agencies. Klarna, for instance, uses ElevenLabs-based systems to handle first-line phone support for 35 million customers in the United States. Creators also use the platform for audiobooks, dubbing and music production.
Blurred lines with competitors
Speaking at the Nrth conference in Toronto, ElevenLabs co-founder and CEO Mati Staniszewski said the boundaries between model, platform and application companies are becoming increasingly blurred. As an example, he pointed to Decagon, a conversational AI platform that originally trained its voice product on ElevenLabs and now competes with it directly.
Staniszewski said enterprise clients now account for more than 55% of ElevenLabs' revenue, with the remaining 45% coming from small and medium businesses, developers and individual creators.
Disclosure and margins
On the question of whether businesses should tell customers they are speaking with an AI rather than a human, Staniszewski said disclosure is currently appropriate, since people are not yet accustomed to it. He suggested that as AI agents become more common, societal attitudes may shift.
Asked about gross margins amid rising model and inference costs, the CEO declined to give specifics but said the company is willing to accept lower margins if it means demonstrating value to customers and growing market share.
Staniszewski did not confirm or deny reports that ElevenLabs is targeting a 2028 initial public offering, saying only that the company is laying the groundwork for such a step without committing to a specific timeline.
