Voice AI startup Eleven Labs announced today that it will allow employees to cash out some of their vested stock at a valuation of $22 billion. This is double the $11 billion valuation the company achieved when it raised $500 million in February.
A recent $300 million tender offer gave employees the opportunity to sell their company stock to investors. The deal was co-led by Mr. Wellington and T. Rowe Price, a large institutional investor who backs privately held companies with the intention of retaining their shares after they go public.
The service is part of a growing trend among fast-growing AI startups to use employee mobility as a retention tool to prevent employees from leaving for competitors.
This is the second time that four-year-old Eleven Labs has approved secondary transactions for its employees. The company had previously made a $100 million bid in September 2025 at a valuation of $6.6 billion.
Founded in 2022, the company is known for producing ultra-realistic human voices and sound effects. The new valuation puts New York and London-based ElevenLab among Europe’s most valuable startups.
TechCrunch spoke with co-founder and CEO Mati Staniszewski last week.
