How ElevenLabs Grew Into a $22B Voice AI Company With $600M in ARR

ElevenLabs went from a $9 million first round in 2022 to a $22 billion valuation in September 2026, and its CEO put annual recurring revenue at $600 million that same month. Here's how the ElevenLabs valuation got there, with every figure dated and labeled by who said it.

Key takeaways

• The ElevenLabs valuation doubled to $22 billion in under eight months, set by a September 2026 employee tender after an $11 billion Series D in February.

• ElevenLabs has raised at least $781 million in new capital, and another $500 million changed hands in employee tenders that brought no cash into the company.

• Annual recurring revenue climbed from $350 million at the end of 2025 to $600 million by September 2026, by the CEO's own count.

• Large companies deploying voice agents now account for 55% of revenue, and several of those customers have also become shareholders.

How fast did the ElevenLabs valuation climb to $22B?

It took ElevenLabs four years to go from a $9 million valuation to $22 billion.

The biggest jump happened at the end. ElevenLabs reached $3.3 billion after its Series C in January 2025, $11 billion after its Series D in February 2026, and then $22 billion less than eight months later.

That's almost a sevenfold jump in 20 months.

One thing stands out: the price has mostly followed revenue. Based on our calculations, buyers paid  31x to 37x annual recurring revenue at each funding event since September 2025.

• September 2025 tender: $6.6 billion on ARR above $200 million, about 33x at most (ElevenLabs).

• February 2026 Series D: $11 billion on $350 million of ARR at the end of 2025, about 31x (ElevenLabs).

• September 2026 tender: $22 billion on the $600 million the CEO cited, about 37x.

These multiples are based on our calculations, and the last one uses a number from an interview, so they should be seen as estimates. Between the last two valuations, the price doubled while revenue grew about 70%. The valuation is still backed by revenue.

Read also: Lovable Growth Teardown - How Lovable Reached $500M ARR in 19 Months

ElevenLabs funding, round by round

ElevenLabs has raised at least $781 million in new capital over five rounds, based on its Series D announcement. In addition, employees sold $500 million worth of shares in three tenders, but the company did not receive that money.

So, ElevenLabs' funding comes from two sources: the money it raised and the prices at which employees sold their shares.

Two of ElevenLabs' last three valuations were set by tenders. In these deals, employees sell shares they already own to investors, so the company itself gets no money. Still, the price from these trades becomes the headline valuation.

Bloomberg reported on July 2, 2026, that talks valued the company at about $22 billion, citing unnamed sources. ElevenLabs later confirmed the deal closed on September 30. Wellington and T. Rowe Price led the round, while BDT & MSD, EQT, GIC, Goldman Sachs, OTPP, and Sapphire Ventures invested for the first time.

A tender price reflects real money from actual buyers, but it only involves a small part of the company. In this case, $300 million worth of shares changed hands at a $22 billion valuation, about 1.4% of equity. ElevenLabs says it aims to provide regular liquidity for its team, so tenders also help with employee retention.

How much revenue does ElevenLabs make?

ElevenLabs brings in about $600 million in annual recurring revenue, according to CEO Mati Staniszewski in a September 24, 2026 interview with TechCrunch. This is up from $350 million at the end of 2025, a figure the company shared earlier.

One thing missing from the ElevenLabs revenue story is user numbers. The company hasn’t updated its user count since it reported over 1 million registered users in June 2023.

Revenue figures ElevenLabs published itself

ElevenLabs shared three revenue numbers and one revenue breakdown on its blog:

• September 2025: ARR passed $200 million earlier that year, and enterprise revenue grew more than 200% over 12 months (ElevenLabs).

• May 2026: ARR was $350 million at the end of 2025 and passed $500 million in the first four months of 2026 (ElevenLabs).

• September 2026: Enterprise customers account for 55% of revenue (ElevenLabs).

Revenue figures from interviews and press reports

Staniszewski also shared two more figures directly:

• $600 million in ARR, with 55%+ from enterprise: said to TechCrunch in September 2026.

• Five months to go from $200 million to $300 million: said to Bloomberg and relayed by TechCrunch in February 2026.

Comparing that second figure with the company’s own updates shows the pace increased. In 2025, they added about $20 million in ARR each month, while from January to April 2026, they added about $37 million a month.

Read also: How Cursor Grew From $100M ARR to a $60B SpaceX Acquisition in Under Two Years

What drove ElevenLabs' growth?

Three main factors drove ElevenLabs’ growth: launching an agents platform for large companies, big customers buying shares, and a licensing deal that started a new music business.

The agents platform pulled in large companies

Voice agents powered ElevenLabs’ growth by making its voice models useful for large companies with millions of customers. The biggest challenge for voice agents is sounding human, and ElevenLabs had already solved this for creators.

Developers showed there was demand by building over 250,000 agents in the first two months after launch. ElevenLabs then added what big buyers need before using a voice on their phone lines: integrations, testing, monitoring for large operations, versions for regulated industries, and engineers who tailor each rollout to the customer’s language and brand.

Customers saw the benefits. According to ElevenLabs, its voice agents resolve issues 31% faster than chat agents. TechCrunch also reports that Klarna uses ElevenLabs for first-line phone support for 35 million US customers.

That's why the agents now handle more than 15 million conversations a week, up 3x since February 2026, while ElevenLabs' ARR more than tripled. Every deployment moves part of a customer service budget onto ElevenLabs' recurring revenue, which is how enterprise grew from about half of revenue in 2025 to 55% in 2026, backed by local go-to-market teams in 14 cities.

The biggest customers became shareholders

Many ElevenLabs investors are also customers. This started with the Series C round, when Deutsche Telekom, LG Technology Ventures, HubSpot Ventures, NTT DOCOMO Ventures, and RingCentral Ventures joined as strategic investors, along with Salesforce Ventures.

The May 2026 funding round took this further. ElevenLabs said many of its biggest customers were now investors, including NVIDIA, Salesforce, Santander, KPN, and Deutsche Telekom. These companies both use the platform and own shares.

Deutsche Telekom is a good example. It invested through T. Capital and uses ElevenLabs agents for support and live translation on phone calls.

That same round brought in over 30 actors, musicians, and athletes, including Jamie Foxx and Eva Longoria. It also allowed retail investors to join through Robinhood Ventures. Now, customers, creative talent, and everyday users can all own part of ElevenLabs.

A Universal Music licensing deal opened a new music line

On September 10, 2026, ElevenLabs signed its first deal with a major label. The multi-year agreement with Universal Music Group covers licensing and product development. It starts with a platform where fans can remix, mash up, and reinterpret tracks from artists who choose to join.

This platform is separate from the Music API and the ElevenMusic app. No financial terms were shared, and ElevenLabs does not report music revenue separately.

Think of this as the newest growth lever: a licensed catalog for the creative side of the business. It is still too new to appear in the numbers.

Lessons for marketing leaders from the ElevenLabs story

These tips are useful for anyone leading tech marketing for products sold to big companies.

Turn your largest customers into stakeholders

ElevenLabs involved its largest customers in shaping its roadmap. You can do this too by offering co-development, early access, or a spot on an advisory board.

Choose the three customers most likely to grow and give each a clear role in your next product release. This helps keep the entire buying team engaged in your success.

Decide how much margin you'll trade for share

Staniszewski said he’s willing to accept lower margins to show customers value, but that only works if you set your minimum margin ahead of time.

Decide and write down the lowest margin you’ll accept to win a key account, and check every discount against this number. Set your margin floor during planning, not during a pricing battle with competitors.

Put specialists inside your customer's operation

ElevenLabs sends engineers to work directly with customers and adjust its agents for each client’s language, industry, and brand. Its technology is now used daily by five of the world’s ten biggest insurers.

In marketing, this could mean having a forward-deployed marketer work closely with the team to redesign their weekly tasks so AI agents handle most of the work.

Read also: The 5 Fastest Growing Startups in 2026 and How They Scaled

Put a dated number behind every growth decision

ElevenLabs went from a $9 million first round to a $22 billion valuation in four years. Its ARR grew from $350 million to $600 million in 2026, carried by voice agents for large companies, customers who became shareholders, and a new licensing business. And every jump came with a dated figure you can check.

Your growth plan should hold up the same way. That's what Darkroom's growth strategy team builds, with one senior strategist owning the plan, the forecast, and the pacing.

Shadow, our AI-native commerce layer, runs media mix modeling and root-cause analysis. The Flight Plan ties your goals, P&L, media investment, and daily pacing together in one live document. 

The first call is a 30-minute working session, and you'll leave knowing the two or three decisions that would move your number fastest.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How much funding has ElevenLabs raised?

ElevenLabs raised $781 million across five primary rounds through its February 2026 Series D, and later Series D closes added an undisclosed amount. Separately, $500 million of existing shares changed hands in three employee tenders between September 2025 and September 2026. Those sales set valuations but added no cash to the company.

What is ElevenLabs' revenue in 2026?

ElevenLabs CEO Mati Staniszewski said in September 2026 that the company had reached $600 million in annual recurring revenue. The company's own posts put ARR at $350 million at the end of 2025 and above $500 million by April 2026. These are run rates, and large companies bring in 55% of revenue.

Who founded ElevenLabs, and who is the CEO?

Mati Staniszewski and Piotr Dabkowski founded ElevenLabs in 2022. Staniszewski is CEO and previously worked at Palantir, helping companies and governments deploy new technology. Dabkowski leads research as CTO. ElevenLabs launched its platform in beta in January 2023 and had more than 800 people by September 2026.

How many people use ElevenLabs?

ElevenLabs doesn't publish a current user count. Its last specific figure was more than 1 million registered users in June 2023. Since then, it has reported reach instead: employees at over 60% of Fortune 500 companies used it by January 2025, and its API customers' products reach over 1 billion users.

Is ElevenLabs a public company, and can you buy its stock?

No. ElevenLabs is private, so its stock doesn't trade on any exchange. In September 2026, the CEO told TechCrunch the company is preparing for an IPO "in the next years" without setting a date. In May 2026, ElevenLabs said retail investors could take a stake through Robinhood Ventures.