ElevenLabs CEO: Why Voice is the Next AI Interface ElevenLabs is one of the most interesting companies in AI today. In just three years, they’ve gone from two cofounders from Poland to dominating the AI voice industry. ElevenLabs does their own R&D, builds their own foundation models, and ships over 10 different products at lightning speed without compromising on quality. We sat down with ElevenLabs co-founder and CEO Mati Staniszewski to discuss the breadth of their product roadmap, why they aren’t based in SF, how they’re working to overcome opposition in creative industries, and the hardest parts of Mati’s journey from small startup founder to industry titan. 00:00 Intro 02:50 Early research and product work with Piotr 03:35 Shipping quickly with small, high ownership independent teams 04:40 Balancing research and product launches 06:50 A remote-first approach: meeting talent where they are 10:00 US vs Europe work cultures 13:35 The creative industry’s adoption of AI 16:43 Challenges in licensing and 18-month negotiation process 18:05 Hiring in complex domains 20:45 Transitioning from creator-first to enterprise adoption 21:48 Lessons from hiring the first salespeople 23:34 Scaling orchestration, long sales cycles and cultural adjustments 26:22 Customer choice in adopting early features 27:55 Phases of company growth: product, sales, scaling @matistanis @JenniferHLi(a16z)