ElevenLabs doubles valuation to $22 billion in $300 million employee share sale
The voice AI startup allowed staff and existing investors to sell $300 million in equity to institutional buyers led by Wellington and T. Rowe Price, doubling its valuation from February 2026.
Valuation and secondary share sale
Voice artificial intelligence developer ElevenLabs has completed a $300 million employee tender offer that values the company at $22 billion. The secondary transaction doubles the $11 billion valuation established during its $500 million Series D primary funding round in February 2026. Institutional investors Wellington Management and T. Rowe Price co-led the share sale, which allows employees and existing shareholders to cash out vested equity without issuing new shares. Six institutional investors bought into the company for the first time, including Goldman Sachs, EQT, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Sapphire Ventures, and BDT & MSD. Existing backers participating in the deal include Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed, and ICONIQ. The closing completes a liquidity process initially reported in July 2026 and marks the startup's second tender offer, following a $100 million transaction in September 2025 that valued the business at $6.6 billion.
- 2022
- 0.009 $B
- 2025-09
- 6.6 $B
- 2026-02
- 11 $B
- 2026-09
- 22 $B
Talent retention and market competition
Fast-growing artificial intelligence developers increasingly deploy secondary sales as a retention mechanism against competing firms. Chief executive Mati Staniszewski noted that secondary liquidity helps the company recruit and keep researchers amid competition with larger artificial intelligence laboratories.
As we grow, it's important to us to let our people share in some of the value they are creating for our customers and the wider world.
Staniszewski also confirmed that management sold a small amount of equity after receiving multiple acquisition offers over several years. T. Rowe Price portfolio manager Emma Norchet described the technical foundation supporting the valuation.
The team is able to make improvements at every layer of the stack.
The $22 billion price tag places ElevenLabs among the top ten most valuable AI laboratories outside China, according to Dealroom data compiled by the Financial Times. The valuation aligns ElevenLabs with European peers such as French developer Mistral, which secured a €21 billion valuation in September 2026.
Enterprise adoption and commercial performance
Commercial demand for automated voice agents has driven expansion across ElevenLabs' operating metrics. Enterprise clients now generate 55% of total revenue, up from roughly 50% in December 2025, with internal projections targeting 60% by the end of 2026. The ElevenAgents platform handles more than 15 million customer conversations weekly, tripling the volume recorded in February 2026, while annual recurring revenue for the agent product tripled over the same period. The company develops its own underlying models and recently released a fourth-generation model designed for longer-running conversations. The tools can speak, listen, and translate across more than 90 languages spoken by over 5.5 billion people. Client deployments include telecoms Deutsche Telekom and KPN, fintechs Stripe, Revolut, and Klarna, insurance firm Admiral, and the national governments of Ukraine and Greece.
- Piotr Dabkowski and Mati Staniszewski establish ElevenLabs at an initial valuation of $9 million.
- The startup conducts a $100 million employee tender offer at a $6.6 billion valuation.
- ElevenLabs raises $500 million in primary capital during a Series D round valuing it at $11 billion.
- A $300 million employee tender offer values the company at $22 billion and adds new institutional backers.
Expansion plans and public market preparations
ElevenLabs was founded in 2022 by Piotr Dabkowski and Mati Staniszewski, beginning with an initial valuation of $9 million following its first funding round. Nvidia joined as a strategic investor in 2025, and Silicon Valley firms including Sequoia Capital backed its primary fundraising in early 2026. The company now employs more than 800 people across its headquarters in London and New York, and opened a new office in Brussels on Wednesday. In September 2026, the firm hired the former chief financial officer of Dutch payments group Adyen to oversee its finances. Staniszewski stated that ElevenLabs aims to achieve readiness for an initial public offering within the next two to two and a half years, noting that a listing will depend on broader market conditions.
