Activate Invests in ElevenLabs to Deepen India Voice AI Push
Activate will act as ElevenLabs’ India partner, helping expand enterprise ties while enabling early-stage startups to access its voice AI infrastructure and strengthen local presence.
Aakrit Vaish, Co-founder of Activate
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Venture capital firm Activate has acquired a strategic stake in ElevenLabs, a New York-headquartered voice AI company valued at USD 11 billion, signalling its first investment in a global growth-stage AI firm since launching its USD 75 million AI-focused fund last year.
The firm did not disclose the size of the investment.
The transaction has been executed through a separate investment vehicle backed by Activate’s limited partners. As part of the partnership, Activate will serve as ElevenLabs’ on-the-ground venture partner in India, supporting the company’s efforts to expand enterprise relationships and strengthen its presence in the country.
It will also enable early-stage Indian startups to gain preferential access to ElevenLabs’ voice AI infrastructure.
Aakrit Vaish, Co-founder of Activate, told ET, “The investment in ElevenLabs is strategic in nature as it will be a way for us to partner with them to see how we can help the voice AI startup ecosystem here.”
The partnership is also expected to complement Activate’s early-stage investment strategy in India. Vaish, who previously co-founded Haptik, said the collaboration would help the firm identify and support emerging startups building in the AI space.
ElevenLabs has been scaling rapidly. Its latest USD 500 million funding round, closed earlier this year, was led by Sequoia Capital, Iconiq Capital and Andreessen Horowitz. The company reported crossing USD 500 million in annual recurring revenue within the first four months of 2026.
India has emerged as its second-largest market by revenue, with a growing base of enterprise clients and developers across sectors such as media, ecommerce and education.
The voice AI segment is witnessing increased competition, with companies such as Wispr Flow, Bolna AI, Murf AI, Cartesia and Gnani.ai expanding their offerings across enterprise and developer use cases.
Activate’s fund is backed by several global technology leaders and investors, including Vinod Khosla and other prominent figures from the AI ecosystem.
Venture capital firm Activate has acquired a strategic stake in ElevenLabs, a New York-headquartered voice AI company valued at USD 11 billion, signalling its first investment in a global growth-stage AI firm since launching its USD 75 million AI-focused fund last year.
The firm did not disclose the size of the investment.
The transaction has been executed through a separate investment vehicle backed by Activate’s limited partners. As part of the partnership, Activate will serve as ElevenLabs’ on-the-ground venture partner in India, supporting the company’s efforts to expand enterprise relationships and strengthen its presence in the country.
Entrepreneur Staff • Editor
Entrepreneur Staff
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