In a significant milestone, ElevenLabs, a pioneering voice technology firm, has successfully raised $80 million in a Series B funding round. The funding was co-led by influential investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Nat Friedman, and Daniel Gross, with participation from Sequoia Capital, SV Angel, Smash Capital, BroadLight Capital, and Credo Ventures. This latest investment propels ElevenLabs into the coveted unicorn status, with a valuation surpassing $1.1 billion.

The company’s CEO, Mati Staniszewski, shared the news on Monday (Jan. 22), highlighting the strategic use of the funds. The capital infusion will fortify ElevenLabs’ position as a global leader in voice AI research and product deployment. Staniszewski emphasized the commitment to responsible and ethical development of AI technology, with a focus on safety measures.

Since its public launch, ElevenLabs has been at the forefront of natural speech synthesis, empowering users to create AI voices across various languages and accents. The technology offers a broad range of emotions and intonations, resulting in over 100 years of generated audio from millions of users. Notably, ElevenLabs’ user base includes employees from 41% of Fortune 500 companies.

ElevenLabs has witnessed substantial adoption across diverse sectors, including the creator economy, publishing, conversational AI, entertainment, education, and accessibility. The new funding will fuel the refinement of existing products and the introduction of innovative solutions while ensuring the responsible deployment of AI.

In conjunction with the Series B announcement, ElevenLabs unveiled several noteworthy product developments set to launch in the coming weeks:

1. Dubbing Studio Workflow: This feature empowers users to dub entire movies, providing control over transcripts, translations, and timecodes. It complements the existing AI dubbing feature, facilitating automated video localization across 29 languages.
2. Voice Library Marketplace: A secure platform allowing users to monetize AI versions of their voices. Creators can replicate their professional AI voice, verify it, and share it via the Voice Library. Original creators receive compensation when others use their verified voices.
3. Mobile Reader App (Early-Preview): An app offering instant conversion of text and URLs into audio, enhancing accessibility while on the move. The app will be free for the initial three months, with early access registration available.

ElevenLabs has expanded its presence in various sectors, forming B2B partnerships with major entities in publishing, conversational AI, media, entertainment, and gaming. Partnerships include Storytel, The Washington Post, Rheinische Post, Curio, FlowGPT, SimpleTalk AI, Ollang, VoiceDrop, Vana, Infinitus AI, Wondershare Filmora, Futuri Media, TheSoul Publishing, Paradox Interactive, NetEase, and Inworld AI.

The company’s commitment to safety and responsible development is underscored by the introduction of an AI Speech Classifier in 2023, verifying audio samples for ElevenLabs-generated content. Plans for enhancing the Classifier’s capabilities and partnering with distribution platforms are underway.

ElevenLabs, founded in 2022 by Piotr Dabkowski and Mati Staniszewski, aims to transcend language and communication barriers, making content universally accessible. With a focus on innovation and a dedication to ethical AI development, ElevenLabs is poised to shape the future of accessibility and communication.