Forbes 30 Under 30: How ElevenLabs’ Young Founders Became Billionaires and Shaped the Voice of AI

Every year, Forbes 30 Under 30 shines a spotlight on the next generation of innovators, disruptors, and game-changers across the globe. In 2025, one story stood out above the rest—a tale of two Polish friends who transformed a simple idea into a multi-billion-dollar AI company, making them both billionaires before the age of 31. This is the journey of ElevenLabs, a startup whose founders were named to Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe for revolutionizing the way machines talk and listen.

The Polish Roots: Solving a Unique Problem

Mateusz Staniszewski and Piotr Dabkowski grew up in Poland, where, for decades, television and film dubbing suffered from an uninspired monotone—a legacy of communist-era cost-cutting. Audiences, especially younger ones, found the experience grating. While working at Palantir and Google respectively, Staniszewski and Dabkowski saw an opportunity: could artificial intelligence bring real emotion and personality to computer-generated voices?

Pooling their savings, the duo left their jobs in May 2022 and launched ElevenLabs. Their first breakthrough came quickly. By January 2023, they introduced an AI text-to-speech model that could read aloud any text in any voice—including eerily convincing clones of real people. The model was not only better than existing options from Apple and Amazon, but it could express happiness, excitement, and even laughter. That leap in realism caught the attention of authors, YouTubers, and language app developers worldwide.

Rocketing to the Top: From Startup to Unicorn

Demand surged. ElevenLabs’ technology allowed authors to instantly create audiobooks, YouTubers to translate their content into dozens of languages, and companies to power customer service with natural-sounding AI agents. By mid-2023, major media firms like HarperCollins and Bertelsmann were using their models, and venture capital followed. Andreessen Horowitz co-led a $19 million funding round, and within two years, ElevenLabs raised over $300 million. By October 2025, the company’s valuation soared to $6.6 billion, making it one of Europe’s most valuable tech startups.

Staniszewski and Dabkowski, both aged 30, held onto significant equity and, according to Forbes estimates, crossed the billion-dollar mark in personal net worth. Their inclusion on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list was more than a badge of honor—it signaled a new era for European tech, where youth and ambition could outpace established giants.

The Power—and Peril—of AI Voice Technology

ElevenLabs’ meteoric rise was not without controversy. The same tools that enabled instant translation and audiobook creation also made it possible for anyone to clone public figures’ voices. Viral incidents included AI-generated soundalikes of President Trump narrating game duels and Emma Watson reading controversial texts. More troubling were cases of fraud: criminals used ElevenLabs’ technology to impersonate loved ones’ voices and orchestrate sophisticated scams.

The company responded by drawing up a list of “no go” voices—mostly politicians and celebrities—to prevent misuse. But ethical questions lingered, especially after audiobook narrators Karissa Vacker and Mark Boyett alleged ElevenLabs trained its models on thousands of protected works, resulting in AI clones of their voices. The lawsuit was settled out of court in November 2025, with both sides declining to comment further.

Innovation, Competition, and the Human Touch

Despite challenges, ElevenLabs maintained a competitive edge. Its team of 300 focused relentlessly on a single problem: making AI voices sound truly human. Their library of 10,000 distinct voices included A-list actors like Michael Caine and Matthew McConaughey (with proper consent), and their technology proved more accurate than rivals like OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft. Labelbox, a data training startup, found ElevenLabs’ models made half as many errors as OpenAI’s in a standardized reading test.

Half of the company’s $193 million in annual revenue came from enterprise clients such as Cisco and Twilio, who used the tech for customer service and hiring. The other half came from creators and small businesses—authors, podcasters, YouTubers—who saw ElevenLabs as a gateway to global audiences. Notably, ElevenLabs was profitable, netting $116 million with margins approaching 60%.

Forbes 30 Under 30: More Than a List

Forbes 30 Under 30 has long celebrated young talent in fields ranging from science to entertainment. In 2025, the spotlight on ElevenLabs’ founders underscored how rapidly technology is reshaping society. Their story wasn’t just about money or fame—it was about the power of focus, the risks of unchecked innovation, and the ethical choices that come with shaping the future.

What sets the Forbes 30 Under 30 apart is not only the recognition, but the community it creates. Alumni often become mentors, investors, and collaborators, driving a cycle of innovation. For Staniszewski and Dabkowski, the honor came with responsibility: to ensure their technology improved lives without enabling harm.

The Road Ahead: Ethics, Impact, and Possibilities

As ElevenLabs continues to expand, the founders face new questions. Can they balance growth with safety? Will regulations catch up with the pace of innovation? And, perhaps most importantly, how will their technology change the way we relate to machines—and to each other?

In an era when AI is becoming increasingly central to daily life, the story of ElevenLabs and its 30 Under 30 founders is a microcosm of larger debates. The voice of AI is now as nuanced and expressive as any human—but with that power comes a need for thoughtful stewardship.

Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2025 highlights the extraordinary impact of youth-driven innovation. ElevenLabs’ journey is a testament to what can happen when ambition, technical brilliance, and ethical awareness converge. Yet, as AI technology becomes more pervasive, the real challenge for the next generation will be to ensure that progress is guided by responsibility as much as by ingenuity.