The Polish government is betting on homegrown AI talent as ElevenLabs, now valued at $11 billion, becomes a centerpiece of the country's tech strategy
Poland has purchased an equity stake in ElevenLabs, the AI voice synthesis company founded by two Polish entrepreneurs, as the country makes an aggressive push to establish itself as a premier European technology hub.
ElevenLabs, which specializes in realistic voice generation and dubbing technology, hit an $11 billion valuation in February 2026 after closing a $500 million Series D round led by Sequoia Capital. That’s a staggering trajectory for a company that didn’t exist before April 2022.
From Warsaw childhoods to billion-dollar valuations #
The company was co-founded by Mati Staniszewski and Piotr Dąbkowski, both of whom grew up in Warsaw. Their origin story is surprisingly analog for an AI company: they were frustrated by the quality of dubbed films they watched as kids in Poland. That annoyance eventually became a business thesis, and the business thesis became an $11 billion enterprise in roughly four years.
Before the massive Series D, ElevenLabs had already secured $180 million in a Series C round in January 2025 at a valuation of approximately $3.3 billion. The company more than tripled its valuation in about 13 months.
The investor roster includes Sequoia, a16z, and ICONIQ. NVIDIA has also made a strategic investment.
Poland’s tech hub play #
Warsaw is already ElevenLabs’ fastest-growing hub, with major offices and R&D centers operating in the city as of June 2026. The company also maintains a presence in London, New York, and other international markets.
The company held a high-profile summit in Warsaw in June 2026 that featured Polish government officials, underscoring the deepening institutional ties between the startup and the state.
The risk factors are worth noting too. AI voice technology sits at the intersection of several regulatory pressure points, from deepfake concerns to intellectual property disputes over voice cloning. Any government with an equity stake in a voice AI company will inevitably face questions about how it regulates the very technology it’s invested in, especially as the EU continues to develop its AI regulatory framework under the AI Act.
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