London-based AI voice technology company ElevenLabs has reached a $22 billion valuation after completing a $300 million employee tender offer, doubling it from the $11 billion level reached in its Series D in February.
- Founded in 2022 by Mati Staniszewski, Piotr Dabkowski, and Piotr Musiał, ElevenLabs initially focused on AI-powered text-to-speech technology. The company has since expanded into a broader AI interaction platform that enables organizations to deploy conversational agents connected to their knowledge and internal systems.
- The company recently introduced Eleven v4 and v4 Turbo, two new text-to-speech models that it describes as its fastest and most expressive models to date.
- According to ElevenLabs, its technology is used in the daily operations of five of the world's 10 largest technology companies, five of the 10 largest insurers, and four of the 10 largest telecom companies.
Details of the deal
- The $300 million transaction was structured as an employee tender offer, providing liquidity to existing shareholders and employees rather than funding the company's balance sheet through a conventional primary financing.
- The tender offer was co-led by Wellington Management and T. Rowe Price, with participation from new investors including Goldman Sachs, GIC, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, EQT Group, Sapphire Ventures, and BDT & MSD Partners.
- Existing backers including Andreessen Horowitz, Alkeon Capital, D. E. Shaw, Disruptive, Evantic Capital, ICONIQ, and Lightspeed also participated in the transaction.
Why it matters
- The deal follows ElevenLabs' rapid valuation growth since its launch. The company was valued at $9 million in its first funding round in 2022 before reaching an $11 billion valuation in its February Series D. The latest tender offer doubles that figure to $22 billion.
- ElevenLabs has also expanded its focus from AI-generated speech toward enterprise AI agents and conversational interfaces. The company says enterprise customers now account for more than half of its revenue, as it develops technology designed to connect AI agents with company data and systems and support customer and employee interactions.
