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India is becoming ElevenLabs’ key growth engine as enterprises scale voice AI: CEO Mati Staniszewski
India is already the second-largest market for ElevenLabs and is fast turning into one of its biggest growth engines, as enterprises scale voice artificial intelligence across customer service, sales and operations, the company's cofounder and chief executive Mati Staniszewski said.
As the technology matures, voice AI will shift from providing reactive support to becoming "proactive AI agents" that will redefine several industries, including ecommerce and banking, Staniszewski said in an interview with ET.
This shift is particularly crucial for India, where millions of new internet users are coming online every year, many of whom are far more comfortable speaking in regional languages than interacting through complex apps or forms.
“Voice is often the most natural interface, especially in markets like India,” Staniszewski said. “It removes barriers and allows people to access services much more easily.”
India's rapid adoption comes at a time when the US headquartered ElevenLabs is scaling aggressively worldwide. The voice AI startup recently saw its valuation jump from $6.6 billion to $11 billion after raising $500 million in fresh funding from existing investors including Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and ICONIQ Capital. New investors such as Lightspeed Venture Partners joined the cap table.
Staniszewski said the company is now handling about 60,000 support calls for one client across English, Hindi and other Indian languages, and nearly 50,000 outbound calls every month for IDFC Bank, marking a clear shift from pilots to core business use.
“These are not experiments anymore. These are real business processes running every day,” Staniszewski said.
The generative AI firm, which focuses on audio technology, was founded by entrepreneurs of Polish origin after they encountered difficulty finding content in their native language. The company recently announced its India office and appointed Karthik Rajaram as the India head.
"The year 2026 will be a major inflection year for enterprise adoption across sectors," said Rajaram. Digital-first companies adopted the technology early, but now large traditional enterprises are accelerating adoption as better customer experience becomes a competitive necessity, he said. Even conservative firms are already using voice AI in production, he added.
More than 1,000 Indian startups have joined ElevenLabs' global grants programme, making India one of its largest developer communities worldwide. Staniszewski said founders across sectors such as fintech, healthcare, education, and ecommerce are increasingly building voice-first products to reach users beyond metro cities, where speech is often easier than typing.
According to Staniszewski, enterprises initially turned to voice AI to reduce call centre costs and manage high volumes of routine customer queries. But as the technology improves in accuracy, language coverage and conversational flow, companies are beginning to trust AI systems with more complex interactions.
What started as automation tools is now evolving into digital agents that can handle full customer journeys, from first contact to the final resolution of issues.
“The next shift will be from reactive support to proactive AI agents across the customer journey,” he said. “Instead of just answering questions, these agents will guide people through shopping, sales, and services.”
Staniszewski said this reflects a broader change in how people are beginning to use AI across platforms. Increasingly, users are not just seeking quick facts but are turning to AI to help compare options, understand products, and make informed decisions. Whether it is choosing a financial product, evaluating a gadget, or navigating a service plan, AI is becoming a trusted layer between consumers and businesses.
In this environment, voice agents are expected to play a much larger role in commerce. Rather than acting like traditional helplines, they will function more like digital assistants that recommend, explain, and guide customers through choices in real time, reducing friction in buying and decision-making.
Enterprises across banking, retail, healthcare, and education are already experimenting with these deeper use cases. Banks are using voice agents for loan inquiries and onboarding support, ecommerce platforms for product discovery and order tracking, and healthcare providers for appointment scheduling and patient guidance.
As reliability improves, Staniszewski said companies are shifting from viewing AI as a cost-saving tool to a revenue-driving layer that can improve customer experience, boost conversions and expand reach.
The traction in India is also being driven by a fast-growing developer ecosystem, with more than 1,000 startups already building voice-first products on ElevenLabs' technology, ranging from multilingual customer service bots to education and accessibility tools.
“India is one of our strongest developer communities today,” Staniszewski said, adding that many of the most creative voice-first applications are emerging from Indian teams solving for scale and language diversity.
Globally, ElevenLabs is investing heavily in expanding language support, improving voice realism, and building tools that allow companies to customise AI agents for different industries and tones of interaction.
The proceeds from its latest funding round will be used to accelerate product development and expand enterprise partnerships across key markets, including India.
Staniszewski believes voice AI will increasingly become a default interface for how people interact with technology, similar to how chat apps did over the past decade.
“Over time, you won't think of it as talking to an AI,” he said. “You'll just talk to a service, a company, or a product, and the intelligence behind it will be powered by systems like ours.”
With Indian enterprises moving rapidly from experimentation to full-scale adoption, and consumers becoming more comfortable relying on AI for everyday decisions, the country is shaping up to be one of the most important markets for the future of voice-driven artificial intelligence.
Source: EconomicTimes
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