Jamie Foxx Invests in AI Voice Startup ElevenLabs in Major Funding Round

Hollywood actor and entrepreneur Jamie Foxx has joined a powerful group of global investors supporting AI voice company ElevenLabs. So far, the startup is strengthening its position in the growth of the conversational artificial intelligence market.

This week, the company confirmed that Foxx took part in the latest close of its Series D funding round, which has now exceeded $550 million in total funding. The latest investment also attracted major institutions like BlackRock, NVIDIA’s investment arm NVentures, Wellington, Santander, Deutsche Telekom, as well as entertainment figures such as actress Eva Longoria and “Squid Game” creator Hwang Dong-hyuk.

This announcement marks another significant milestone for ElevenLabs, one of the fastest-growing AI companies globally. Founded in 2022 by Piotr Dąbkowski and Mati Staniszewski, the London-based startup focuses on realistic AI-generated speech, multilingual dubbing, voice cloning, and conversational AI systems used across media, business, entertainment, and customer service.

Why Jamie Foxx’s Investment Matters

Foxx’s choice to invest shows how deeply artificial intelligence is starting to intersect with Hollywood, digital storytelling, and the future of media production.

Unlike earlier celebrity tech endorsements, this move reflects a growing belief among entertainers that AI voice technology could fundamentally transform content creation, global distribution, localization, and audience engagement.

ElevenLabs stated that its new investors offer expertise in industries the company is specifically targeting, especially entertainment, communications, and business automation.

The company is positioning itself not just as a voice synthesis platform but as the backbone for what executives call the next generation of human-AI interaction.

“Conversational agents will become the primary way businesses interact with customers on a large scale,” the company said while announcing the expanded funding round.

For Jamie Foxx, whose career covers film, music, production, and digital entertainment, the investment places him in one of the most promising areas of artificial intelligence.

The company did not reveal the size of Foxx’s individual investment.

ElevenLabs Crosses $500 Million in Annual Revenue

The funding announcement coincided with another major update: ElevenLabs has now surpassed $500 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR), an increase from about $350 million at the end of 2025.

The company claims that this growth has been driven by rising demand from businesses for AI-powered voice agents across customer support, sales, hiring, marketing, accessibility, and multilingual communication systems.

CEO Mati Staniszewski mentioned that the company added approximately $100 million in new ARR during the first quarter of 2026 alone.

This rapid growth has quickly elevated ElevenLabs into the upper tier of global AI startups.

Earlier this year, the company raised $500 million at an $11 billion valuation in a Series D round led by Sequoia Capital. The latest investments have now pushed the total round beyond $550 million.

Industry analysts believe the valuation surge indicates growing investor confidence that AI voice systems could become essential infrastructure in both business communication and entertainment production.

The Bigger AI Voice Race

The investment also highlights the increasing competition within the global AI voice market.

Voice AI has swiftly evolved from basic text-to-speech tools into advanced systems that can generate emotionally expressive speech, multilingual dubbing, real-time translation, AI agents, and digital assistants that sound more human.

ElevenLabs has become one of the leading players in the sector by focusing heavily on realism, reducing lag, enabling multilingual capabilities, and adding emotional nuance.

The company works with major firms, including Meta, Salesforce, Klarna, Revolut, and Deutsche Telekom.

Its technology is also employed in publishing, film localization, podcasting, gaming, accessibility services, and AI-driven customer interaction systems.

Staniszewski has stressed that trust and high-quality human interaction will determine the future success of AI voice systems.

“Consumers won’t trust systems that sound robotic,” he said in comments shared during the funding announcement.

This focus has become increasingly important as major tech companies like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and OpenAI ramp up their investments in conversational AI and voice interfaces.

AI, Entertainment, and the Future of Storytelling

Foxx’s involvement comes at a time when entertainment companies are actively discussing how AI should be integrated into film, music, dubbing, gaming, and digital media.

Proponents argue that AI voice tools could significantly lower localization costs, help creators reach global audiences faster, enhance accessibility for people with disabilities, and create entirely new formats.

However, critics continue to voice concerns about deepfakes, voice replication misuse, copyright issues, and the ethical use of synthetic voices.

ElevenLabs has faced scrutiny over the misuse of voice-cloning tools. The company has since improved its safeguards, moderation systems, and detection technologies to reduce abuse.

At the same time, the company has heavily invested in socially driven initiatives.

In March 2026, ElevenLabs pledged up to $1 billion in free voice restoration technology for individuals experiencing permanent voice loss.

This initiative has strengthened the company’s commitment to accessibility and the ethical use of AI.

Why Investors Are Betting Big on Conversational AI

The latest funding round reflects a broader shift on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley toward conversational AI infrastructure.

Analysts increasingly see voice technology as a major upcoming computing interface after mobile and chat-based AI.

Research firms monitoring business AI adoption say companies are rapidly moving toward AI voice agents that can manage customer engagement, scheduling, onboarding, support, and multilingual communication on a large scale.

Institutional investors now seem convinced that companies building the infrastructure behind these interactions could become some of the most valuable AI firms of the decade.

The involvement of investors such as BlackRock, NVIDIA, Deutsche Telekom, and Santander suggests growing confidence that conversational AI is transitioning from experimentation to widespread commercial use.

What Comes Next for ElevenLabs

ElevenLabs plans to continue its international expansion while enhancing its work in AI agents, multilingual voice systems, business automation, and creative media tools.

The company is also reportedly preparing for broader retail investor participation through Robinhood Ventures, though details have not been fully revealed.

For now, Foxx’s investment signifies more than another celebrity-backed tech deal.

It highlights a growing connection between entertainment, artificial intelligence, and the future of communication.

As AI voice technology changes from being a novelty to a core aspect, companies like ElevenLabs are positioning themselves not just as software firms but as pioneers of how people, businesses, and digital systems will interact over the next decade.