October 7, 2026: AI voice technology company ElevenLabs is planning to invest “hundreds of millions of dollars” in India, putting the country at the centre of its next phase of global expansion. The London-based company said the investment will support local teams, model development and work on Indian languages as demand for voice-based artificial intelligence grows.

The announcement was made as ElevenLabs held its first India Summit in Bengaluru. The company also announced a memorandum of understanding with the Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society to explore voice-AI applications in Kannada for areas including skilling, citizen services and grievance redressal.

India is becoming a major market for ElevenLabs

ElevenLabs said India is now its second-largest market after the United States. More than 250 businesses and enterprises in the country are using its technology, while Indian businesses recorded about 100 million conversations on ElevenLabs’ AI-agent platform over the past year.

The company’s India operations are not limited to English-language applications. More than 70% of those conversations took place in Hindi, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu, according to reporting from The New Indian Express. The figures highlight the importance of multilingual voice interfaces in a country where customers and citizens routinely switch between English and regional languages.

What the investment will fund

ElevenLabs co-founder and CEO Mati Staniszewski told Reuters that the company plans to use the investment to add local teams, develop models and work on Indian languages. The company has also indicated that it is open to acquisitions in India, although it has not disclosed specific targets.

Unlike a conventional software expansion, voice AI requires the technology to handle accents, pronunciation, context, code-switching and local usage patterns. India’s linguistic diversity therefore creates both a major commercial opportunity and a significant technical challenge.

From customer support to AI agents

ElevenLabs’ technology is moving beyond simple text-to-speech applications. Its AI systems can be used for tasks such as appointment scheduling, insurance renewals, customer-service interactions and processing certain requests.

For businesses, the attraction is the possibility of handling large volumes of routine conversations without requiring every interaction to be managed manually by a human employee. AI agents can operate around the clock and can potentially connect voice conversations with business systems.

Indian companies including Physicswallah, Havells and Razorpay are among the businesses cited by the company as customers. That customer base gives ElevenLabs an opportunity to develop products around real Indian business workflows rather than treating India solely as a consumer market.

Karnataka partnership brings a public-service angle

The planned partnership with Karnataka adds another dimension to the expansion. ElevenLabs and the Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society are exploring voice AI in Kannada for skilling, citizen services and grievance redressal.

Voice interfaces can be particularly useful where typing is difficult, literacy varies or users are more comfortable communicating in their first language. If implemented effectively, regional-language voice systems could make government and digital services easier to access.

Why this matters for India’s AI ecosystem

ElevenLabs’ investment comes as several major global AI companies increase their presence in India. The country offers a large technology workforce, a huge consumer market, rapidly expanding digital infrastructure and an increasingly sophisticated startup ecosystem.

The more important development may be the shift from AI models designed primarily for global English-language markets toward systems that are built around India’s linguistic and commercial complexity. Voice AI could become an important layer connecting businesses and public services with users who prefer regional languages.

What to watch next

The exact size and timing of ElevenLabs’ investment have not been disclosed. The company’s ability to recruit local talent, develop high-quality Indian-language models and convert enterprise experimentation into sustained deployments will determine how significant the expansion becomes.

For Indian businesses, the development is another signal that voice AI is moving from experimental demonstrations toward practical customer-service and operational applications. For the wider technology industry, it reinforces India’s position as both a major AI market and an increasingly important location for AI development.

Sources

  • Reuters, October 6, 2026.
  • The New Indian Express, October 6, 2026.
  • ElevenLabs India Summit announcements, October 6, 2026.