ElevenLabs is a company that develops artificial intelligence (AI) tools to convert text into speech that sounds like a human voice. Its technology is used by many businesses and governments around the world. The company reports having $600 million in annual recurring revenue and is valued at $22 billion by its investors. Major clients include companies like Klarna, Deutsche Telekom, Cisco, and Adobe, as well as governments in the United States and Europe. Additionally, creators use ElevenLabs' platform for audiobooks, voice dubbing, and music production. The company faces competition from other AI platforms, such as Decagon, which has used ElevenLabs' models to train its own voice technology. During an interview at the Nrth conference in Toronto, ElevenLabs co-founder and CEO Mati Staniszewski shared insights into the company’s operations. He explained that 55% of the company's business comes from large enterprises, while the remaining 45% is made up of small and medium businesses, developers, and content creators. Staniszewski emphasized the importance of transparency in AI interactions, suggesting that businesses should inform customers when they are speaking with an AI rather than a human. However, he also acknowledged that societal norms around this issue may evolve in the future. ElevenLabs uses different types of AI models depending on the needs of its clients. For applications where accuracy is critical, such as in financial services, the company relies on advanced "frontier" AI models. For less critical tasks, like informational calls, open-source models may be sufficient. The company also works with governments, adjusting its models and voices to meet specific requirements, including local data storage laws. Staniszewski explained that ElevenLabs does not directly train its AI on millions of customer service calls. Instead, the company uses synthetic and annotated data for training. A team of contractors, including voice coaches, helps annotate this data to ensure accurate accent detection and other speech nuances. While the company is preparing for a potential initial public offering (IPO) in the coming years, Staniszewski did not specify a timeline. He also noted that ElevenLabs has implemented cybersecurity measures to manage risks, and its technology is designed to avoid the same issues as other AI platforms, such as Hugging Face, by preventing AI agents from creating more agents.