Inside ElevenLabs: CEO Discusses $22B Valuation and $600M ARR
An exclusive interview at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 covers ElevenLabs' growth, enterprise dominance, and ambitions to pass the Turing test.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- ElevenLabs reaches $600 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR).
- Classic enterprise customers account for over 55% of the business.
- The company is laying the groundwork for a potential IPO in the coming years.
- Goal set to be the first to pass the conversational AI Turing test.
At TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, Editor-in-Chief Connie Loizos sat down with the leadership of ElevenLabs, the pioneering voice-AI startup reportedly valued at $22 billion. The company builds the foundational voice models that convert text into human-sounding speech, powering customer service operations behind the scenes for major global brands.
Prominent deployments include Klarna, which runs first-line phone support for 35 million U.S. customers using ElevenLabs technology. Other notable enterprise clients include Deutsche Telekom, Cisco, Adobe, and a growing roster of government entities, alongside individual creators utilizing the platform for audiobooks, dubbing, and music production.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
Detailing the company's financial footprint, the CEO revealed that ElevenLabs currently stands at $600 million in ARR. Over 55% of this revenue stems from classic enterprise accounts, while the remaining portion is driven by small and medium-sized businesses, developers, builders, and creators.
"What we’d love to do, and be the first ones to do, is pass the Turing test for conversational AI. You need to combine intelligence, but you also need emotional intelligence."
CEO of ElevenLabs
Discussing future technological hurdles, leadership noted that meaningful quality deltas between models will likely persist for another three to five years. The ultimate milestone for the company is mastering emotional intelligence in conversational agents—allowing AI to detect user emotions, adjust speaking pace, and respond naturally.
ElevenLabs' expansion into public sector deployments, such as automated healthcare appointment reminder agents in Poland that address an 18% no-show rate, highlights the shift of voice AI from consumer novelty to critical government infrastructure. Balancing custom fine-tuned models with strict data residency requirements remains a key operational focus.
Source: TechCrunch
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