ElevenLabs employees are set to cash out tens of millions of dollars as the AI voice startup opens a secondary sale that values the company at $6.6 billion, double its worth from January.
The company says the staff can sell up to $100 million of stock in a tender led by Sequoia Capital and Iconiq Growth, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, reports Bloomberg.
The move allows early employees to realize gains from the AI boom while new investors expand their stakes.
Founded in 2022, ElevenLabs makes artificial voices that can mimic human speech in multiple languages. Its technology is used to generate customer service agents, translate podcasts, and power media production. The firm now counts 331 employees, up from 77 a year earlier, with annual recurring revenue climbing from $100 million last October to $200 million by June.
ElevenLabs chief executive Mati Staniszewski says the tender offer is indicative of the startup’s rapid ascent.
“It really reflects the growth of the company.”
Staniszewski adds that the sale is designed to reward loyalty and signal long-term independence, noting that the firm wants to reward employees who have stuck with the startup, while showing that leaders plan to build it for the long term, rather than sell to another company.
The CEO also reveals that he’s received multiple buyout offers, but declined to say from whom.
The company’s valuation has doubled in just nine months, rising from $3.3 billion in January to $6.6 billion today. The meteoric ascent places ElevenLabs among the fastest-growing AI startups in Silicon Valley’s secondary market.
The tender also underscores how the AI boom is spilling profits beyond investors and founders. By letting staff sell millions of dollars in shares, ElevenLabs is turning paper equity into real cash.
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