BENGALURU, India (Diya TV) — AI-focused venture firm Activate has invested in voice artificial intelligence startup ElevenLabs as part of the company’s newly closed Series D funding round, which values the startup at $11 billion.
Activate did not disclose the size of its investment. The funding round was led by ICONIQ Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, with strategic participation from Nvidia and BlackRock.
The deal highlights growing investor confidence in voice AI technology and India’s fast-expanding artificial intelligence market. Industry experts expect voice-driven tools to play a larger role in customer service, education, e-commerce, and digital content creation across the country.
Activate said the investment came through a separate strategic investment vehicle focused on later-stage global AI companies with strong relevance to India. The firm launched earlier this year as an AI-native investment platform that backs startups building core technologies for India’s digital economy.
The ElevenLabs deal marks Activate’s first growth-stage investment since its launch. The move also signals a broader strategy to support both emerging AI startups and larger international companies that want to expand in India. Activate founder Aakrit Vaish said voice technology could become one of the main ways people interact with artificial intelligence in India.
“Voice will be a foundational interface for AI in India,” Vaish said. “Given the country’s linguistic diversity and the way millions of users interact with technology, we believe voice will be central to how AI is built and adopted.”He added that the partnership with ElevenLabs would help Indian founders gain access to advanced voice AI infrastructure and tools.
Founded in 2022, ElevenLabs develops AI-powered speech generation, dubbing, and conversational voice technologies. Its software allows users to create realistic voice outputs in multiple languages.
The company said India has become its second-largest market globally by revenue. The strong growth reflects rising demand for multilingual AI tools in one of the world’s largest internet markets.
ElevenLabs plans to work closely with Activate to strengthen its presence in India. The company aims to support startups, developers, and enterprises building products on top of ElevenLabs’ voice AI platform. Mati Staniszewski said India has become a major part of the company’s global expansion strategy.
“India is one of our largest markets and one of the fastest globally to adopt voice AI,” Staniszewski said. “What stands out are the innovative ways builders and enterprises across India are deploying the technology.”He said the partnership with Activate would help the company engage more deeply with India’s growing AI ecosystem.
The investment comes as companies around the world increase spending on conversational AI and voice-first technologies. Businesses are using AI voice tools to automate customer support, improve accessibility, and create content in regional languages.
India has emerged as a key market because of its mobile-first internet population and wide range of spoken languages. Many technology companies now see voice interfaces as a practical way to reach users who prefer speaking over typing.
