ElevenLabs lists BlackRock, Jamie Foxx, and Eva Longoria as new investors

Source: TechCrunch

Funding round and new investors

Voice AI company ElevenLabs announced new investors as part of its $500 million Series D fundraise, which was first announced in February. The additions include institutions such as BlackRock, Wellington, D.E. Shaw, and Schroders; enterprises like Nvidia, Salesforce Ventures, Santander, KPN, and Deutsche Telekom; and individual investors such as Jamie Foxx, Eva Longoria, and Squid Game creator Hwang Dong‑hyuk. Read the announcement.

Financial performance

• The startup surpassed $500 million in ARR (annual recurring revenue), after ending last year with nearly $350 million in ARR. TechCrunch source
• Co‑founder and CEO Mati Staniszewski said ElevenLabs added $100 million in net new ARR in Q1 2026, ending the quarter at roughly $450 million in ARR. Twitter thread

Valuation growth

ElevenLabs’ valuation accelerated rapidly, rising from $6.6 billion last September to $11 billion this February.

Deutsche Telekom endorsement

“Voice is the highest‑stakes channel for any customer interaction, and the bar for quality, latency, and security is extremely high. ElevenLabs is not just a category leader – it is becoming a foundational enabler of Deutsche Telekom’s broader Industrial AI vision. From voice‑as‑a‑service to multilingual automation and in‑network AI agents, we believe the company is uniquely positioned to reshape how businesses interact with customers across all channels.”
— Karine Peters, Managing Director at Deutsche Telekom’s venture arm T.Capital

Enterprise contracts

In the past quarter, ElevenLabs signed enterprise contracts with Deutsche Telekom, Revolut, and Klarna.

Additional developments

• The company closed a $100 million tender, the second such deal in roughly six months after a similar tender issued in September.
• Staniszewski announced that retail investors will have an opportunity to invest in ElevenLabs through Robinhood Ventures, though details were not provided. Blog post
• Emphasizing the need for trustworthy, human‑like AI voices, Staniszewski highlighted the importance of building “human‑level AI voice models.”
• Last month, ElevenLabs acquired the team from Polish voice AI startup Papla to bolster its research capabilities. Twitter announcement