Activate invests in ElevenLabs, bets big on India’s voice AI opportunity

AI investment firm Activate has backed voice artificial intelligence startup ElevenLabs in its latest funding round, marking the venture firm’s first growth-stage investment since launching earlier this year.

ElevenLabs was recently valued at $11 billion in its Series D financing round led by ICONIQ Capital and Andreessen Horowitz. The startup has also brought on strategic investors, including Nvidia and BlackRock in recent weeks.

The size of Activate’s investment was not disclosed. The firm said the transaction was carried out through a separate strategic investment vehicle focused on late-stage global AI companies that have a strong India connection, rather than through its primary early-stage India fund.

As part of the partnership, Activate will work with ElevenLabs to expand its presence in India and support startups and enterprises building products on top of its voice AI platform.

Founded in 2022, ElevenLabs develops AI models for speech synthesis, dubbing and conversational voice agents. The company said India has already become its second-largest market globally by revenue.

“Voice AI is going to be the defining AI opportunity for India. At Activate, our mission is to not simply invest in Indian startups, but to help build the ecosystem around them. This means connecting global AI leaders with the country's best builders,” said Aakrit Vaish, founder of Activate.

“India is one of our largest markets and one of the fastest globally to adopt voice AI,” said Mati Staniszewski, co-founder of ElevenLabs. “Besides the scale, what stands out are the innovative ways that builders and enterprises across India are deploying the technology.”