UK-based artificial intelligence language company ElevenLabs has raised another $500 million in new funding, taking its valuation to $11 billion and cementing its position as one of the UK’s most valuable private technology companies.
The latest round was led by Sequoia Capital, with participation from existing investors including Andreessen Horowitz and actor Matthew McConaughey. The deal more than triples ElevenLabs’ year-over-year valuation and brings total funding since its 2022 launch to $781 million.
Founded in London by former Google engineer Piotr Dąbkowski and former Palantir employee Mati Staniszewski, ElevenLabs has quickly become a global leader in AI-generated speech. Its technology converts text into highly realistic, human-like voices, supports multilingual dubbing, and has recently expanded to produce music and sound effects.
The platform is increasingly being adopted by companies to create AI-powered customer service agents capable of naturally conversing in more than 30 languages. Customers include Deliveroo, Deutsche Telekom, Square, Revolut and the Ukrainian government.
The company has also been at the center of broader debates over voice cloning and intellectual property. In response, ElevenLabs launched its “iconic voice marketplace” last year, allowing actors and estates to license their voices for commercial use. Celebrity participants include Michael Caine and Liza Minnelli, with rights holders able to approve or reject individual requests.
The move is seen as a significant attempt to build commercial protections in an industry facing increasing scrutiny over consent, abuse and deepfake content. ElevenLabs previously settled a lawsuit with actors who claimed their voices were used without permission.
Beyond voice, the company has expanded its ambitions. In August, the company unveiled an AI music generator that can generate studio-quality tracks from text prompts, and continues to invest heavily in transcription, dubbing and conversational AI.
Dąbkowski said the latest funding would greatly accelerate ElevenLabs’ expansion. “We started by developing a voice that could sound human,” he said. “Now we are developing fundamental models for voice, transcription, music and conversation agents with a world-leading research team.”
The magnitude of the valuation underscores investors’ continued interest in AI infrastructure companies, even as concerns about inflated valuations grow across the sector. However, ElevenLabs’ growth reflects strong enterprise demand for tools that bring automation closer to human interaction – an area that many believe will define the next phase of AI adoption.
