Overview
ElevenLabs is a pioneering software company specializing in the development of natural-sounding speech synthesis using advanced deep learning technologies. Founded in 2022 by Piotr Dąbkowski and Mati Staniszewski, the company has quickly become a significant player in the AI voice synthesis field.
Founding and Funding
- Founded in 2022 by former Google engineer Piotr Dąbkowski and ex-Palantir strategist Mati Staniszewski
- Secured $2 million pre-seed funding in January 2023
- Raised $19 million Series A in June 2023
- Obtained $80 million Series B in January 2024, reaching a $1.1 billion valuation
Key Technologies and Products
- Speech Synthesis: Produces lifelike speech with emotional intonation
- Voice Cloning: Allows users to create custom voices from audio samples
- Voice Library: Offers over 1,000 community-created voice profiles
- AI Dubbing: Translates speech into 20+ languages while preserving original voice characteristics
- Multilingual Support: Generates speech in 28 languages
- AI Speech Classifier: Detects if audio originates from ElevenLabs' technology
- Projects: Creates long-form spoken content with contextually-aware voices
- Voice Isolator: Removes background noise from audio
- Text-to-Music Model: Generates music from text inputs
- ElevenLabs Reader App: Converts articles, PDFs, and ePubs to audio
Pricing and Integration
- Offers various plans from free to advanced (Starter, Creator, Pro)
- Provides powerful APIs for integration with applications like chatbots and content videos
- Supports commercial use capabilities in higher-tier plans
Customer Support
- AI chatbot
- Contact form
- Active Discord community for user support and discussions ElevenLabs continues to innovate in the AI voice synthesis field, catering to content creators, educators, and businesses seeking high-quality, multilingual audio content solutions.
Leadership Team
ElevenLabs' leadership team comprises experienced professionals driving the company's innovation in AI audio technology:
Mati Staniszewski
- Role: Co-Founder and CEO
- Background:
- Diverse career in tech industry (Palantir Technologies, BlackRock, Opera Software)
- Mathematics graduate from Imperial College London
- Led ElevenLabs to significant growth and technological advancements
Piotr Dąbkowski
- Role: Co-Founder and CTO
- Background:
- Former Google employee
- Key figure in ElevenLabs' technical direction
Ben Budde
- Role: Vice President of Revenue
Team Growth
- Founded in January 2022
- Expanded to approximately 197 employees globally The leadership team is committed to revolutionizing the audio AI space while addressing challenges such as deepfakes. Their diverse backgrounds and expertise contribute to ElevenLabs' rapid growth and technological innovations in the AI voice synthesis market.
History
ElevenLabs, founded in 2022, has experienced rapid growth and development in the AI audio industry. Key milestones include:
Founding (2022)
- Co-founded by Piotr Dąbkowski (former Google ML engineer) and Mati Staniszewski (former Palantir strategist)
- Inspired by poor quality of dubbed films in their native Poland
Funding Rounds
- January 2023: $2 million pre-seed funding (led by Credo Ventures and Concept Ventures)
- June 2023: $19 million Series A funding (co-led by Andreessen Horowitz, Nat Friedman, and Daniel Gross)
- January 2024: $80 million Series B funding (led by Andreessen Horowitz, Friedman, Gross, and Sequoia Capital)
- Achieved $1.1 billion valuation
Product Development Timeline
- January 2023: Public release of beta platform
- June 2023: Launch of Voice Marketplace, AI Dubbing Studio, and AI Speech Classifier
- July 2023: Expansion to 28 languages and introduction of 'Projects' tool
- October 2023: Release of 'AI Dubbing' for multi-language translation
- May 2024: Introduction of text-to-music model
- June 2024: Launch of ElevenLabs Reader App for iOS and Android
- July 2024: Release of 'Voice Isolator' tool
Growth and Partnerships
- Rapid expansion from 15 employees to 197 globally
- Collaboration with industry leaders (e.g., Disney accelerator program, Audacy)
- Opened European HQ in London
- Involvement in AI safety initiatives (partnered with Reality Defender)
Mission and Vision
ElevenLabs aims to make content universally accessible in any language and voice, emphasizing:
- Advanced AI models for realistic, contextually-aware speech
- Transparency and trust in product development
- Rapid innovation and deployment of new technologies The company continues to push boundaries in AI voice synthesis, addressing both opportunities and challenges in the evolving landscape of audio AI technology.
Products & Solutions
ElevenLabs, a pioneering AI audio research and deployment company, offers a diverse range of innovative products and solutions primarily focused on text-to-speech technology and AI-generated audio. Their offerings span various applications and industries:
Text-to-Speech Technology
At the core of ElevenLabs' offerings is its advanced text-to-speech technology, capable of generating realistic, versatile, and contextually-aware speech in 32 languages. This technology finds application in:
- Audiobooks: Bringing text to life with natural and expressive narration
- Gaming: Integrating dynamic character voices without extensive voice acting resources
- Videos: Enhancing content creation, engagement, and localization for platforms like YouTube and TikTok
- Chatbots: Elevating conversational AI with interactive user experiences
- Presentations: Transforming static presentations into immersive experiences
Use Cases
ElevenLabs' AI audio platform serves numerous industries and applications:
- Accessibility: Enhancing content accessibility for users with visual and reading impairments
- Healthcare: Improving patient engagement and streamlining services through clear, compassionate communication
- Game Development: Creating diverse, engaging character voices for Unity and Unreal Engine projects
- Virtual Reality: Enhancing VR experiences with dynamic voice interactions
- Podcasts: Offering a range of tones, accents, and emotions for dynamic audio content
- Twilio Integration: Incorporating AI voices into Twilio applications for enhanced user engagement
Enterprise Solutions
ElevenLabs provides scalable, enterprise-ready AI audio solutions:
- Unlimited Voices and Simultaneous Operations: Enhancing team productivity and content accessibility
- Enterprise-Grade Security: SOC2 and GDPR compliant, with optional Full Privacy Mode and end-to-end encryption
- Intra-Team Communication and Asset Sharing: Streamlining project collaboration with unlimited user seats and communication tools
Content Creation and Management
The platform includes tools for structuring, editing, and generating long-form audio:
- Comprehensive Workflow: Converting books into audiobooks and scripts into podcasts, supporting various file formats (EPUB, TXT, PDF, HTML)
- Voice Library and Customization: Offering thousands of voices and voice creation options with adjustable parameters
- Automated Quality Check: Regenerating audio to correct mispronunciations and unwanted artifacts
Partnerships and Integrations
ElevenLabs collaborates with various companies and integrates its technology into different platforms, including Disney's accelerator program, Twilio, Storytel, and HarperCollins. ElevenLabs' products and solutions aim to make content universally accessible in any language and voice, driving innovation and overcoming communication barriers across industries.
Core Technology
ElevenLabs' cutting-edge technology is built on advanced neural networks and deep learning models, enabling the generation of highly natural and human-like voices. Key aspects of their technology include:
Neural Network Architecture
- Utilizes sophisticated neural networks, including Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) and Transformer architectures
- Trained on over 60,000 hours of speech data from 7,000 unique speakers
- Enables "zero-shot" voice generation and natural speech synthesis in unseen contexts
Voice Synthesis
- Employs advanced neural vocoding and feature extraction techniques
- Captures unique characteristics of human speech, including intonation, pitch, and rhythm
- Generates voices indistinguishable from human speech
Multi-Language Support
- Supports more than 32 languages, including major European, Asian, Middle Eastern, and South Asian languages
- Utilizes the Eleven Multilingual V2 model for seamless voice synthesis across multiple languages
- Maintains original accents and speaking styles across languages
Voice Cloning
- Features Professional Voice Cloning capability
- Creates perfect digital copies of voices using just 15 seconds of audio input
- Maintains original voice characteristics, including accents and speaking styles, across all supported languages
Real-Time Processing
- Utilizes cutting-edge streaming technology for real-time audio generation
- Ideal for live applications and interactive content creation
- Achieves response times as low as 400ms
Emotional Intelligence and Context-Awareness
- Incorporates advanced emotional intelligence
- Conveys a wide range of emotions naturally
- Demonstrates contextual awareness, adjusting tone and emphasis based on content meaning
API Integration
- Provides developers access to thousands of realistic voices
- Offers fast response times and the ability to create unique voices or clone existing ones
- Supports multiple programming languages, including Python, JavaScript, and PHP ElevenLabs' technology is designed to break down language barriers and enhance user engagement through highly realistic and customizable voice synthesis, positioning the company at the forefront of AI-driven audio solutions.
Industry Peers
ElevenLabs operates in the competitive artificial intelligence (AI) sector, specifically focusing on text-to-speech technology and voice generation. Here's an overview of its key industry peers and competitors:
Major AI Competitors
- Grok: A significant player in the AI category, holding approximately 50.57% market share
- Optimole: Holds 11.36% market share in the AI sector
- Drift: Captures 9.43% of the market share in AI technologies
Specialized Voice Technology Competitors
- OpenAI: Known for generative models, AI safety research, and various AI applications
- Respeecher: Offers voice cloning technology, replicating voices for synthetic speech indistinguishable from originals
- Resemble AI: Focuses on generative AI voice technologies and deepfake audio detection
- WellSaid Labs: Provides AI text-to-speech technology in the synthetic media industry
- PlayHT: Specializes in AI-powered dubbing and localization solutions for audiovisual content
Other Notable Competitors
- Voicemod: Known for voice-changing technology, suitable for games, communication apps, and streaming platforms
- Microsoft and Google TTS: Offer text-to-speech services with a wide range of voices and languages
- Synthesia: Provides AI-powered video creation tools, including text-to-speech and voice cloning These companies represent the diverse landscape of AI and text-to-speech technology, competing with ElevenLabs in various aspects of voice generation and synthetic speech. The competition drives innovation in areas such as:
- Voice quality and naturalness
- Language support and multilingual capabilities
- Customization and voice cloning technologies
- Integration capabilities and API accessibility
- Real-time processing and low-latency solutions
- Emotional intelligence and context-awareness in speech synthesis As the AI audio industry continues to evolve, ElevenLabs and its competitors are pushing the boundaries of what's possible in voice synthesis, driving advancements that have far-reaching implications across multiple sectors, from entertainment and accessibility to healthcare and customer service.