In a massive show of confidence for the audio AI sector, ElevenLabs officially announced on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, that it has raised $500 million in a Series D funding round.
The investment catapults the company’s valuation to $11 billion, more than tripling the $3.3 billion valuation it achieved just one year ago in January 2025. This milestone solidifies ElevenLabs’ position as the global leader in the “audio-native” AI race, rivaling the growth trajectories of giants like OpenAI and Anthropic.
1. The Funding Breakdown
The round reflects a “quadrupling down” by major Silicon Valley players who see audio as the next frontier for autonomous AI agents.
- Lead Investor: Sequoia Capital (Partner Andrew Reed will join the ElevenLabs board).
- Major Backers: Existing investors Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and ICONIQ Capital significantly increased their stakes, with a16z reportedly quadrupling its previous commitment.
- New Strategic Capital: Joining the round are Lightspeed Venture Partners, Evantic Capital, and BOND.
- Total Raised to Date: Approximately $781 million across five funding rounds since its 2022 founding.
2. Financial Milestone: Crossing $330M ARR
Unlike many AI startups that are still searching for a business model, ElevenLabs demonstrated blistering commercial growth throughout 2025.
- Revenue: The company closed 2025 with over $330 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR).
- Velocity: CEO Mati Staniszewski revealed the company scaled from $200 million to $300 million in ARR in just five months.
- IPO Path: With $11 billion in valuation and strong cash flows, the company is now openly discussing a potential IPO as early as late 2027.
3. Strategic Focus: The “ElevenAgents” Era
ElevenLabs is shifting from being a “voice-cloning tool” to a full-stack Audio Intelligence platform for the enterprise.
- ElevenAgents: The new capital is primarily earmarked for this platform, which allows businesses to deploy interactive voice and chat agents that can “talk, type, and take action” in real-time.
- Enterprise Roster: Current clients include Deutsche Telekom, Square, Revolut, Deliveroo, and the Ukrainian Government (for educational and public engagement initiatives).
- Infrastructure Layer: Its API already powers platforms reaching over one billion users through partnerships with Meta, Epic Games, Salesforce, and NVIDIA.
4. Global Expansion & India Focus
ElevenLabs is using the funds to establish “locally embedded” go-to-market teams in 14 major global hubs.
- India: Identified as the company’s largest global market, ElevenLabs is opening a major office in Bengaluru to support local research and operations.
- Other Locations: London, New York, San Francisco, Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, São Paulo, Berlin, Paris, and Mexico City.
Conclusion: Beyond Just Voice
The $11 billion valuation marks a pivot in the industry: AI is moving beyond text-based LLMs toward multimodal assistants that communicate through sound. By building a full audio stack—encompassing text-to-speech, transcription, dubbing, music, and conversational intelligence—ElevenLabs is betting that the future of computing will be voice-first and frictionless.
