Voice AI startup ElevenLabs announced today that it is allowing employees to cash out a portion of their vested equity at a 22 billion dollar valuation, doubling the 11 billion dollar valuation the company hit when it raised 500 million in February.
The recent 300 million dollar tender offer gave employees an opportunity to sell their shares to investors. The transaction was co-led by Wellington and T. Rowe Price, large institutional investors that back private companies with the intention of retaining the stock after the company goes public.
The offering is part of a growing trend among fast-growing AI startups that use employee liquidity as a retention tool to prevent staff from leaving for competitors. As the AI talent war intensifies, secondary transactions have become a critical weapon in the battle to keep engineers and researchers from jumping to rival labs offering higher compensation packages.
This is the second time that four-year-old ElevenLabs has authorized a secondary transaction for employees. The company previously held a 100 million dollar tender at a 6.6 billion dollar valuation in September 2025. The rapid valuation climb from 6.6 billion to 22 billion in just over a year underscores the explosive growth of the voice AI market.
Founded in 2022, the company is known for generating ultra-realistic human voices and sound effects. With its new valuation, New York- and London-based ElevenLabs joins the ranks of Europe's most valuable startups. The dual headquarters reflects the company's transatlantic roots, with co-founder and CEO Mati Staniszewski having European origins and the product serving a global customer base across content creation, gaming, and enterprise applications.