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— CH. 1 · FOUNDING AND EARLY HISTORY —

ElevenLabs

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  • Piotr Dąbkowski and Mati Staniszewski launched ElevenLabs in 2022 after leaving their previous roles at Google and Palantir. Both founders grew up in Poland, where they watched American films with poor dubbing quality. This experience sparked the idea for a company that could generate natural-sounding speech using deep learning technology. In January 2023, the startup secured $2 million in pre-seed funding led by Credo Ventures and Concept Ventures. The team released its beta platform to the public just weeks later that same month.

  • ElevenLabs raised $19 million during its Series A round in June 2023, reaching a valuation of approximately $100 million. Andreessen Horowitz co-led this investment alongside former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman and entrepreneur Daniel Gross. Prominent investors including SV Angel, Mike Krieger, and Tim O'Reilly joined the round. By the 22nd of January 2024, the company had secured an additional $80 million in Series B funding, pushing its total valuation to $1.1 billion. On the 30th of January 2025, ElevenLabs announced an $180 million Series C round, bringing its valuation to $3.3 billion. Strategic partners like Deutsche Telekom and LG Technology Ventures participated in this latest funding cycle.

  • The company's flagship product is browser-based text-to-speech software capable of synthesizing vocal emotion and intonation. Users can submit text to generate audio files from default voices or upload custom samples for voice cloning. In July 2023, ElevenLabs introduced Projects, a tool designed for creating long-form content such as audiobooks. The platform expanded support to 28 languages that same month using an in-house AI model. October 2023 brought AI Dubbing, which translates speech into over 20 languages while preserving original emotions. June 2025 saw the release of Eleven v3, supporting more than 70 languages with natural multi-speaker dialogue capabilities.

  • ElevenLabs gained rapid momentum after launching in January 2023, reaching one million registered users by June of that year. The company received praise for its ability to accurately pronounce unique names often mishandled by competing tools. A generous free tier helped attract early adopters during the beta phase. In April 2025, Forbes included ElevenLabs on its AI 50 list recognizing industry leaders. The Voice Marketplace now hosts over 1,000 community-created voice profiles available for public use. The Reader App released in June 2024 allows iOS and Android users to listen to articles and PDFs using AI voices.

  • Users exploited the software to generate controversial statements mimicking celebrities and public officials following its launch. Hateful messages appeared on 4chan using ElevenLabs' replication capabilities, drawing significant criticism. In January 2024, AI-generated robocalls attributed to Joe Biden targeted New Hampshire voters before a democratic primary. Audio experts concluded the calls were made using ElevenLabs technology, prompting an investigation by state authorities. Multiple voice actors have raised concerns about their samples being used without consent for training data purposes. CEO Mati Staniszewski stated the company was dedicated to preventing misuse but offered no specific comments on individual incidents.

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Common questions

Who founded ElevenLabs and when was the company established?

Piotr Dąbkowski and Mati Staniszewski launched ElevenLabs in 2022 after leaving their previous roles at Google and Palantir. Both founders grew up in Poland, where they watched American films with poor dubbing quality.

What is the current valuation of ElevenLabs as of January 30th 2025?

ElevenLabs announced an $180 million Series C round on the 30th of January 2025, bringing its valuation to $3.3 billion. Strategic partners like Deutsche Telekom and LG Technology Ventures participated in this latest funding cycle.

How many languages does Eleven v3 support for text-to-speech synthesis?

June 2025 saw the release of Eleven v3, supporting more than 70 languages with natural multi-speaker dialogue capabilities. The platform previously expanded support to 28 languages that same month using an in-house AI model.

When did ElevenLabs reach one million registered users?

The company gained rapid momentum after launching in January 2023, reaching one million registered users by June of that year. A generous free tier helped attract early adopters during the beta phase.

Why was ElevenLabs investigated by state authorities in January 2024?

Audio experts concluded robocalls attributed to Joe Biden targeting New Hampshire voters before a democratic primary were made using ElevenLabs technology. This prompted an investigation by state authorities following the appearance of hateful messages on 4chan using the replication capabilities.

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46 references cited across the entry

  1. 1ElevenLabs raises $500m Series D led by SequoiaMaya Dharampal-Hornby — 4 February 2026
  2. 2This startup, founded by ex-Google and Palantir staffers, uses AI to generate realistic voiceovers. Here's the 14-slide pitch deck ElevenLabs used to raise $2 million.Riddhi Kanetkar
  3. 3Voice-generating platform ElevenLabs raises $19M, launches detection toolKyle Wiggers — 2023-06-20
  4. 5A new AI voice tool is already being abused to make deepfake celebrity audio clips
  5. 6NewsThe trials and tribulations of AI voice tech2023-06-21
  6. 7AI firm ElevenLabs achieves $100 million valuation within months of launchSimon Hunt — 2023-06-20
  7. 8Now hear this: Voice cloning AI startup ElevenLabs nabs $19M from a16z and other heavy hitters2023-06-20
  8. 9ElevenLabs Releases New Voice AI Products and Raises $80M Series B2024-01-22
  9. 10MagazineResearchers Say the Deepfake Biden Robocall Was Likely Made With Tools From AI Startup ElevenLabsKate Knibbs
  10. 11ElevenLabs triples valuation to $3.3BN, after confirming $180M funding round2025-01-30
  11. 12Nvidia-backed AI voice startup ElevenLabs hits $11 billion valuation in fresh fundraise, as it eyes IPOKai Nicol-Schwarz — 2026-02-04
  12. 13ElevenLabs pledges to restore 1 million voices with AI at SXSW 2026Timothy Beck Werth — 2026-03-14
  13. 14Generative AI comes for cinema dubbing: Audio AI startup ElevenLabs raises pre-seedJanuary 23, 2023
  14. 15MagazineAI Can Clone Your Favorite Podcast Host's VoiceBoone Ashworth — April 12, 2023
  15. 16MagazineThis Podcast Is Not Hosted by AI Voice Clones. We SwearWIRED Staff
  16. 17Software lets you design new synthetic voices from scratchMark Frauenfelder — January 12, 2023
  17. 18As Generative AI booms, this British startup secures $2M to imitate human voices — TFNJanuary 25, 2023
  18. 19NewsMaking Deepfakes Gets Cheaper and Easier Thanks to A.I.Stuart A. Thompson — 2023-03-12
  19. 20ElevenLabs' Powerful New AI Tool Lets You Make a Full Audiobook in MinutesLawrence Bonk
  20. 21ElevenLabs' AI Voice Generator Can Now Fake Your Voice in 30 Languages2023-08-22
  21. 22ElevenLabs' voice-generating tools launch out of betaKyle Wiggers — 2023-08-22
  22. 23ElevenLabs introduces AI Dubbing, translating video and audio into 20 languagesShubham Sharma — 2023-10-10
  23. 24ElevenLabs is launching a new AI music generator — and you have to hear these clips to appreciate itRyan Morrison — 2024-05-10
  24. 25ElevenLabs Launches Reader, A Text-to-Audio App2024-06-25
  25. 26ElevenLabs launches free AI voice isolator to take on AdobeShubham Sharma — 2024-07-04
  26. 27ElevenLabs now offers ability to build conversational AI agentsIvan Mehta — 2024-11-18
  27. 28ElevenLabs now lets authors create and publish audiobooks on its own platformIvan Mehta — 2025-02-26
  28. 29Meet ScribeFlavio Schnieder — 2025-02-26
  29. 30Speech to Text AI Model & Provider Leaderboard2025-02-26
  30. 31Introducing Eleven v3 (alpha) — the most expressive Text to Speech model2025-06-03
  31. 32ElevenLabs launches an AI music generator, which it claims is cleared for commercial useAmanda Silberling — 2025-08-05
  32. 33Eleven Music is Here2025-08-05
  33. 34ElevenLabs Launches Expressive Mode for Voice AI Agents as Voice AI Market GrowsDeepanker Verma — 2025-08-05
  34. 35A Voicebot Just Left Me SpeechlessSaahil Desai — 2023-07-17
  35. 36Your AI Clone Can Fool Family, Your Bank, But Not Your Video Meeting - Tech News Briefing - WSJ Podcasts
  36. 37Forbes 2025 AI 50 List - Top Artificial Intelligence Companies Ranked2025-04-10
  37. 38People Are Still Terrible: AI Voice-Cloning Tool Misused for Deepfake Celeb Clips2023-01-31
  38. 39The generative A.I. software race has begun
  39. 40NewsElections in UK and US at risk from AI-driven disinformation, say expertsDan Milmo et al. — 2023-05-20
  40. 41NewsAI hustlers stole women’s faces to put in ads. The law can’t help them.2024-03-28
  41. 424chan users embrace AI voice clone tool to generate celebrity hatespeechJames Vincent — January 31, 2023
  42. 43Liza Minnelli, Art Garfunkel & More Partner With ElevenLabs for AI Music AlbumKristin Robinson — 2026-01-21
  43. 44Who Is Building the Future of AI Music? Start With These 11 CompaniesKristin Robinson — 2026-01-29
  44. 45Hello Again: Restoring Voices with AI
  45. 46ElevenLabs Restores Eric Dane’s Voice and Launches Global Accessibility Initiative at SXSW 2026Roastbrief — 2026-03-14
  46. 47Voice AI startup ElevenLabs closes new funding round at $3.3 billion valuation2025-01-30