Preparations for an ElevenLabs IPO could begin in 2028, chief executive Mati Staniszewski said on Tuesday, as the voice artificial intelligence startup moves to capture rising corporate demand for autonomous speech tools across enterprise customer service, automated outbound phone lines and workplace communications.
Key points
- Chief executive Mati Staniszewski identified 2028 as a target window to initiate ElevenLabs IPO preparations.
- The company plans to use the multi-year runway to expand commercial contracts for autonomous voice agents.
- Enterprise communications agreements have become the primary commercial driver for synthetic voice software developers.
Targeting a 2028 public listing
Speaking to Bloomberg Technology, Staniszewski said that preparing to list the company on public markets in 2028 was a “good goal” for the business. The projected timetable suggests ElevenLabs plans to remain venture-backed for at least two more years while expanding its corporate accounts.
Preparing for an initial public offering typically requires software companies to build formal governance structures, standardise recurring enterprise contracts and establish predictable quarterly revenue. For voice AI providers, that transition also means proving that customer retention remains steady as competing speech models enter the market from major hyperscale cloud operators.
The target puts ElevenLabs on a visible trajectory toward public market scrutiny as institutional investors evaluate whether software businesses focused on generative audio can maintain healthy gross margins over time.
Enterprise demand for voice agents
Staniszewski credited the commercial boom in corporate voice agents as the primary driver behind the firm’s long-term public listing ambitions. Enterprises are increasingly overhauling contact centre operations and automated telephony systems, replacing rigid interactive voice response trees with conversational speech tools.
Older telephone systems relied on pre-recorded audio prompts and basic keyword routing. In contrast, modern voice agents connect low-latency synthetic speech engines with underlying language models to carry out open-ended conversations. Companies are putting these tools to work handling routine billing questions, booking field appointments and triaging customer complaints without human intervention.
The rush to deploy synthetic voice software mirrors broader shifts in corporate procurement. As software budgets focus on automation that replaces operational headcount, enterprise buyers are tracking real-world efficiency gains more rigorously, an emphasis seen as enterprise AI spending concentrates on measurable operational savings.
Public market timing for AI startups
Aiming for 2028 gives ElevenLabs several years to establish durable annual recurring revenue before approaching public equity investors. Fund managers in public markets look for reliable balance sheets, predictable churn rates and sustainable margins, areas where private venture investors often grant more leeway during early funding cycles.
Investor appetite for public artificial intelligence stocks remains cautious. Although several frontier model developers have evaluated initial public offerings, regulatory paperwork has underscored ongoing financial challenges. Recent filings, including an Anthropic IPO filing, drew attention to systemic questions surrounding data copyright liabilities, third-party insurance and rising compute overheads.
Specialist software creators are also navigating how best to distribute their systems through existing IT ecosystems. Major cloud providers are offering packaged commercial agreements to reach large corporate buyers, illustrated by the Microsoft and Lumen enterprise partnership to sell network services and cloud-hosted intelligence alongside one another.
Staniszewski did not name specific listing venues or underwriting banks during his interview. ElevenLabs plans to focus on growing its enterprise voice communications business before launching formal public listing preparations.
