ElevenLabs: "It Cannot Be an AI Bubble, because Companies Are Actually Buying It"

At the TechBBQ conference last week in Copenhagen, I had the opportunity to conduct an interview with Carles Reina from ElevenLabs. ElevenLabs is that AI startup for audio applications like voice cloning, text-to-speech, and music generation, which is now valued at $3.3 billion and is among the global stars of the GenAI movement.

I had a pretty exciting and open conversation with Carles, not just about audio AI, but also about a possible AI bubble, about copyright, and about what AI startups will soon be facing - listen in, it's absolutely worth it!

1. From First Investor to Go-to-Market Leader

Why Carles Reina switched from investor to operator roleThe vision of AI Voice as fundamental communication infrastructure

2. Competitive Moats: More than just Technology

Research and model quality as core USP

The Voice Marketplace: Artists earn with their voices

Multi-layered Defensibility: The "Onion Principle"

3. Competition with Tech Giants: David vs. Goliath

Why OpenAI and Google don't keep Carles up at nightThe advantage of specialization over Big TechQuality vs. Distribution: Who wins?

4. Growth and Profitability

From 0 to $100M ARR in 17 monthsUnit Economics and the path to profitabilityWhy AI is not a bubbleThe Future of Startup Financing2022: Foundation Models, 2023: Applications, 2024: Distribution Why Go-to-Market becomes the new investment priority Distribution strategies for different markets

5. Partnerships and Licensing

Why Apple and Meta increasingly rely on partnershipsElevenLabs Music: The legal path through record label dealsTelcos as new sexy distribution partnersSpeech-to-Speech and Real-Time Conversations

6. The Future of Voice AI

Expanding from 70 to 500 languagesOmni-Models: Music, voice and sounds from one modelEnterprise as fastest growing segmentGlobal expansion and new officesThe vision: ElevenLabs in every moment of the day

ElevenLabs: "It Cannot Be an AI Bubble, because Companies Are Actually Buying It"

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