Acquisition project | ElevenLabs

ElevenLabs is an Audio AI platform which helps creators expand their reach globally through realistic AI speech synthesis, professional voiceovers, perfect voice cloning and multilingual functionality.

Product

ElevenLabs is an audio AI platform to create the most realistic human sounding speed filled with emotions, intonation. They have a library of 3000+ voices and multilingual capability which can make any piece of audio content almost universally accessible. ElevenLabs has gained recognition for its high-quality, lifelike voice synthesis capabilities, which allow users to convert written text into natural-sounding spoken audio.

The product suite consists of

• Speech synthesis - This is the flagship product that allows users to generate lifelike speech by synthesizing vocal emotion and intonation from text using a library of 3000+ voices or a custom voice that the user can themselves create (more details in appendix of this section). Their advanced Text to Speech (TTS) technology creates natural, engaging voices in multiple languages. This core technology is being used by publishers to create audiobooks or content companies to produce podcasts or game developers to give voice to characters in games or any content creator / blogger to add a listen to this article feature seamlessly
• AI Dubbing Studio - Provides ability to localize content across 29 languages with AI dubbing. Translates audio and video while preserving the emotion, timing, tone, and unique characteristics of each speaker. ElevenLabs provides an end to end tool for changing anything in the workflow for managing the AI generated dubbing. Ideal for content creators looking to reach a global audience without losing the essence of the original audio.
• Projects - End to end workflow for managing the creation of audiobooks / long form audio from long-form text.
• Voiceover studio - User can upload a video and add AI generated voiceoover and sound effects. It gives users the ability to write a dialogue between any number of speakers, choose the speakers and intertwine sound effects anywhere they like
• Conversational AI - Targetted at enterprises to create a voice agent with different characteristics and connection to a specified knowledge base which the voice agent should have access to. For example - a user could create a customer support agent, a sales agent, a math tutor etc with customized knowledge
• ElevenLabs reader - while all other use cases are targetted at creators / B2B, this product is purely B2C which allows users to paste any link and listen to audio narration of any content. This is completely free and most likely a TOF enhancement exercise for ElevenLabs

In addition, ElevenLabs provides APIs for their Text to Speech technology which enterprises and developers can integrate into their existing systems for seamless automation of voice tasks.

In the absence of ElevenLabs, content creators had no ready tools to expand their reach into other languages using their own voice, emotion and intonation. Big creator led companies had to use professional dubbing services by human voice artists which was both expensive (~$100 / min including voice actors' fee, post-production and studio) and time consuming (>2 weeks for 10-min video requiring multiple functions; longer videos take months).

Users

The personas that are being targetted by ElevenLabs can be broken down into 5 distinct personas

• Publishers:
• • Description: This group includes traditional publishing houses like HarperCollins, independent publishers like Lukeman Literary, audiobook platforms like Storytel, and platforms offering bite-sized learning content like AnyTopic.
  • Needs: They need cost-effective and scalable solutions for creating high-quality audiobooks in various languages. They are looking for tools that can speed up production time and offer flexibility in terms of voice selection and customization.
  • ElevenLabs Solution: ElevenLabs provides a suite of tools, including the "Projects" product5 and AI-powered narration capabilities, to meet these needs.
• Content Creators:
• • Description: This group encompasses YouTubers and online educators like Never Too Small, Lutz Finger, and Leeanna Morgan, podcast producers like Audio Pitara, and video platforms like Kapwing and Aug X Labs.
  • Needs: They require high-quality AI voices for video narration, dubbing, podcasts, and educational content. They value realistic and emotionally expressive voices that enhance engagement and offer multilingual capabilities for wider reach.
  • ElevenLabs Solution: ElevenLabs provides a diverse library of AI voices, tools for voice cloning, and its text-to-speech technology in multiple languages.
• Game Developers:
• • Description: This segment includes AAA game studios like Paradox Interactive, and indie developers like Magicave.
  • Needs: They need AI voices for character dialogue, narration, and dynamic audio content generation. They look for tools that can speed up the game development process, offer flexibility in voice creation, and allow for unique and immersive gameplay experiences.
  • ElevenLabs Solution: ElevenLabs provides AI voice technology for character voice creation and in-game narration, helping streamline game development processes.
• Businesses:
• • Description: This group includes companies using AI for sales and customer support automation, like GAIL, Call Simulator, Infer.so, Thoughtly, and Synthflow.
  • Needs: They need natural-sounding and engaging AI voices for conversational AI applications like chatbots, virtual assistants, and automated call handling. They require tools for seamless integration with their existing systems and multilingual support for international operations.
  • ElevenLabs Solution: ElevenLabs provides high-quality AI voices, low latency voice models for real-time conversations20, and easy-to-use APIs for integration with various platforms.
• AI Character Companies:
• • Description: This category comprises companies developing AI companions, like Shapes and Kindroid, and apps offering personalized experiences like SoundAiSleep.
  • Needs: They require lifelike and customizable AI voices to bring their virtual characters and personalized audio experiences to life. They seek solutions that offer high levels of voice quality, flexibility in customization, and seamless integration with their platforms.
  • ElevenLabs Solution: ElevenLabs provides its diverse voice library, voice cloning technology, and flexible pricing models that cater to startups and growing businesses.

Based on these personas, there are some common features that would feature in the ICP of ElevenLabs:

• Companies and individuals looking to enhance their content or services with high-quality, human-like AI voices.
• Value speed, scalability, and efficiency in audio production.
• Require multilingual capabilities for wider reach and global operations.
• Seek innovative solutions for creating engaging and immersive experiences for their target audience.

Important note - all personas except creators are B2B

B2B personas

B2C Personas

Prioritisation among the different customer profiles

Prioritisation conclusion summary

• Primary Focus: Content Creators
  • Rationale: Content creators have a high adoption curve, frequent usage, a large market size, and high distribution potential despite variable appetite to pay.
  • Strategy: Leverage online channels, offer scalable solutions with flexible pricing, and focus on ease of use to attract this segment.
• Secondary Focus: Businesses
  • Rationale: Businesses have a high appetite to pay and frequent usage but present challenges in adoption and distribution.
  • Strategy: Allocate dedicated resources for targeted outreach, emphasize ROI and efficiency gains, and address concerns about integration and security.

Market

Creator segment

For the creator segment of creating natural sounding voices and voice clones, conversion into multiple languages and expressive character voices

Business segment

For serving businesses which need advanced text to speech functionality with enterprise grade security

Survey results show that ElevenLabs is the clear leader in terms of quality of text to speech.

Graph showing how many times each TTS provider was rated higher than all the others in the survey. In other words, it shows how many times it was ranked number one. 

Since the nearest competitor is Open AI, deepdiving into comparison with OpenAI

The major differentiation is the flexibility provided by ElevenLabs to use any LLM with its text to speech model while a user has to use Open AI LLM for using their TTS service.

Appendix

There are overall 3 kinds of voices on the ElevenLabs

• Default voices - available to all users. Have multilingual capability and different styles for different use cases. For example - Charlie is for conversational use cases and the voice is Australian, middle aged male; Alice is a British female, confident middle aged voice specialized for news
• 
• Generated voices created using voice creation tool where the voice can be customized basis age, gender and accent
• Cloned voices made using Instant Voice Cloning (basis an audio recording of 4 minutes) or Professional Voice Cloning (basis a ~6 hour audio recording)

Focussing on creators, ElevenLabs is expanding the total addressable market due to making it much cheaper and faster to dub / modify / create synthetic audio than existing alternatives.

Source: ElevenLabs Pitch Deck https://drive.google.com/file/d/16p8InLz7fl4OV2LXHKbLSGlVP7X34uUm/view

Core Value Proposition

'Make it possible for creators to reach a global audience by speaking in their audience's language at lower cost and higher speed.'

'Human quality automated dubbing as SaaS'

The core value proposition will be experienced by the user once they upload a video and it seamlessly dubs into another language in their voice at the click of a button. A mini aha moment before this could be when the creator is able to effectively clone their voice and experience another language's audio in their own voice.

ElevenLabs provides a freemium model (10,000 credits per months) which equates to 10 min of free audio content features. However, for experiencing the dubbing studio or voice cloning, users have to take an entry level subscription. The hook for potentially taking the subscription would be the quality of audio switching possible in different languages and demo videos.

Prioritization framework

Top three acquisition channels for ElevenLabs to focus on are:

1. Product Integration
2. Content Loops
3. Organic

These channels offer the best balance of cost-effectiveness, scalability, alignment with target customer profiles, and potential for rapid and sustainable growth. By leveraging existing APIs for Product Integration, fostering user engagement through Content Loops, and building long-term brand authority via Organic strategies, ElevenLabs can effectively expand its market reach among Content Creators and Businesses.

Highly optimized homepage for SEO

ElevenLabs’ homepage generates the vast majority of their traffic volume, which is worth over $134,935. That doesn’t change by much when you look at the traffic value, either. That’s an unusual profile for a site of its size. Their organic traffic comes from search terms such as “elevenlabs”, “eleven labs”, and “11 labs” with a combined 91,000 searches monthly, indicating that people have already heard about ElevenLabs and are looking for them specifically — not generic terms like “AI dubbing”. But it isn’t all referrals from other sites or people searching for their brand name that have led to people knowing about ElevenLabs. Their homepage ranks in the top three for high-volume search terms like “ai voice generator” (104,000 searches monthly), “voice ai” (52,000 searches monthly), and “ai voice” (41,000 searches monthly). ElevenLabs built a homepage that topped the SERPs for every search related to their name — that allows them to rely on their homepage as the main source of organic traffic. (Source: https://foundationinc.co/lab/elevenlabs-journey)

However, there are certain keywords where ElevenLabs was not featuring on the first page of google rankings. These need to be refined

• Text to realistic voice
• AI voice bot

For ElevenLabs, leveraging content loops can amplify the reach of its AI voice technology by encouraging users to create and share content that showcases the product's capabilities. This not only promotes brand awareness but also creates a self-sustaining cycle of user-generated content that attracts new users. The incentive for the user to share content and credit ElevenLabs for increasing TOFU will be increasing the credit limit of the user's current plan (platform currency). This further creates a loop of higher usage of the platform since higher availability of credits.

Few ideas for content loops

Idea 1: AI-Dubbed Video Sharing with Free Credits Incentive

Hook: Transform your videos with realistic AI dubbing in multiple languages and earn free credits for sharing and crediting ElevenLabs.

Content Creator: YouTubers, social media influencers, video content creators.

Distribution Channel: YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, content creator networks.

Incentive Mechanism:

• Free Credits for Sharing: Users receive additional free credits when they share their AI-dubbed videos on social media and credit ElevenLabs.
• Reward Criteria:
• • Include a specific hashtag (e.g., #DubbedWithElevenLabs).
  • Tag ElevenLabs' official account.
  • Provide a link to ElevenLabs in the video description or post.

How It Works

1. Content Creation:
2. • Creators use ElevenLabs to dub their videos into multiple languages using AI voices.
   • They enhance their content's accessibility and global reach.
3. Sharing and Earning Credits:
4. • Creators share the dubbed videos on their channels.
   • By crediting ElevenLabs as per the criteria, they earn free credits added to their accounts.
   • These credits can be used for future dubbing projects, encouraging continued use.
5. Audience Engagement:
6. • Viewers watch the high-quality dubbed videos and engage through likes, comments, and shares.
   • The inclusion of ElevenLabs branding raises awareness among viewers.
7. Viral Spread and Adoption:
8. • Other creators notice the quality and the incentive program.
   • Attracted by the opportunity to enhance their content and earn free credits, new users sign up.
9. Positive Feedback Loop:
10. • Increased usage leads to more sharing, earning more credits, and further usage.
    • The cycle reinforces itself, driving platform growth.

Idea 2: Voice Clone Challenges with Free Credits Incentive

Hook: Participate in the Voice Clone Challenge, share your AI-generated speech, and earn free credits on ElevenLabs.

Content Creator: AI enthusiasts, social media users, tech-savvy individuals.

Distribution Channel: TikTok, Instagram Reels, Twitter, Facebook, online forums.

Incentive Mechanism:

• Free Credits for Participation: Users receive free credits when they share their voice clone content and credit ElevenLabs.
• Bonus Credits:
• • Additional credits for posts that achieve high engagement (e.g., a certain number of likes or shares).

How It Works

1. Voice Cloning and Content Creation:
2. • Users create a voice clone using ElevenLabs.
   • They generate an audio recording of themselves reading a famous speech, quote, or a creative script.
3. Sharing and Incentivization:
4. • Participants share their recordings on social media platforms.
   • They must use a designated hashtag (e.g., #MyVoiceELevenLabs) and tag ElevenLabs to qualify for free credits.
   • Upon sharing, free credits are added to their accounts.
5. Community Engagement:
6. • The challenge encourages friendly competition and community interaction.
   • Users engage with each other's posts, fostering a sense of community.
7. Amplification Through Rewards:
8. • Posts with higher engagement receive additional credits, motivating users to create compelling content.
   • The prospect of earning more credits incentivizes users to promote their posts.
9. Attracting New Users:
10. • The visibility of the challenge draws in new users interested in voice cloning and earning rewards.
    • New users join the platform and participate, further fueling the loop.

Idea 3: Educational Content Creation with Free Credits Incentive

Hook: Enhance your educational content with AI voices and earn free credits by sharing and crediting ElevenLabs.

Content Creator: Educators, online instructors, educational content creators.

Distribution Channel: E-learning platforms, YouTube educational channels, social media.

Incentive Mechanism:

• Free Credits for Content Sharing: Educators receive free credits when they share their AI-narrated educational content and credit ElevenLabs.
• Referral Bonuses:
• • Additional credits for referring other educators who start using ElevenLabs.

How It Works

1. Content Creation:
2. • Educators use ElevenLabs to create engaging lessons, tutorials, or courses.
3. Sharing and Crediting:
4. • They publish their content on educational platforms or social media.
   • By crediting ElevenLabs (e.g., mentioning in the video, description, or using a hashtag like #TeachingWithElevenLabs), they earn free credits.
5. Learner Engagement:
6. • High-quality, AI-narrated content enhances learner experience.
   • Students share and recommend the content, increasing its reach.
7. Referral Incentive:
8. • Educators are encouraged to refer peers.
   • For each referral that results in a new user, they earn additional free credits.
9. Community Growth:
10. • A network of educators using ElevenLabs forms, sharing resources and best practices.
    • Continuous sharing leads to more free credits and usage.
11. Positive Loop Effect:
12. • The incentives motivate ongoing content creation and sharing.
    • The loop strengthens as more educators join and contribute.

Idea 4: AI Voice Meme Creation with Free Credits Incentive

Hook: Create viral memes using AI-generated voices and earn free credits when you share and credit ElevenLabs.

Content Creator: Meme creators, social media enthusiasts, influencers.

Distribution Channel: Reddit, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, meme communities.

Incentive Mechanism:

• Free Credits for Sharing Memes: Users earn free credits for each meme shared that credits ElevenLabs.
• Viral Bonus:
• • Additional credits for memes that achieve viral status (e.g., reach a certain number of shares or impressions).

How It Works

1. Meme Creation:
2. • Users create memes using AI-generated voices from ElevenLabs.
   • They combine audio with visuals to produce engaging content.
3. Sharing and Crediting:
4. • Memes are shared on social media platforms.
   • By including a hashtag like #MemesWithElevenLabs and tagging ElevenLabs, users earn free credits.
5. Community Engagement:
6. • Memes attract attention and are shared widely.
   • High-engagement memes can earn users additional free credits.
7. Trend Amplification:
8. • As the trend grows, more users are inspired to create their own AI voice memes.
   • The prospect of earning free credits encourages participation.
9. Expanding User Base:
10. • The visibility of the memes introduces ElevenLabs to a broader audience.
    • New users sign up to create content and earn rewards.
11. Sustained Engagement:
12. • Regular creation and sharing of memes keep the loop active.
    • Users remain engaged with the platform to continue earning credits.

Strengthening the Positive Feedback Loop with Free Credits

Motivation to Engage:

• Immediate Reward: Free credits provide an instant benefit for users' actions, reinforcing positive behavior.
• Increased Usage: Free credits lower the barrier to experimenting with ElevenLabs' features, leading to more content creation.
• Value Perception: Users perceive higher value in the platform when they receive tangible rewards.

Cycle Enhancement:

1. Incentive Leads to Sharing: Users are more likely to share content to earn free credits.
2. Sharing Increases Visibility: Content reaches a wider audience, raising awareness of ElevenLabs.
3. New Users Attracted: Others see the content and incentives, prompting them to join.
4. More Users Create Content: The user base grows, and more content is generated.
5. Loop Intensifies: The cycle repeats with amplified effects due to the growing community.

Identification of complementary products

Content creators

Businesses

Prioritization of product integrations

We will use the following framework to shortlist which partner integrations to pursue:

• Time to Go Live: Estimated time required to develop and launch the integration.
• Tech Effort: Level of technical resources and complexity involved.
• New Users We Can Get (Monthly): Estimated number of new users the integration can bring in per month.

An additional consideration to select the right integration partner is if the integration adds any value to the user flow in the product. That will be the final filter we apply to shortlist the right kind of partner integrations.

Content Creator Tools

Business Tools

Basis the above framework, we can shortlist 3 integrations

• InShot
  • Time to Go Live: Low
  • Tech Effort: Low
  • New Users: High
• OBS Studio
  • Time to Go Live: Low
  • Tech Effort: Low to Medium
  • New Users: High
• CapCut
  • Time to Go Live: Medium
  • Tech Effort: Medium
  • New Users: High

Although integrations with the likes of Youtube, Instagram, Adobe will be a huge value add for ElevenLabs but given that will be the longest lead time since a partnership with such big enterprises is very hard, those integrations have been deprioritized.

Customer journey and integration flow

Inshot

Customer Journey Map :

1. Discovery: User updates or downloads InShot, now featuring ElevenLabs integration.
2. Content Creation: User opens InShot to create or edit a video.
3. Encounter with ElevenLabs: Within the audio options, the user sees "Add AI Voiceover by ElevenLabs."
4. Value Addition: Users can generate high-quality voiceovers directly within the app, enhancing their videos without leaving the platform.
5. Engagement: The seamless experience encourages users to use the feature regularly.

Integration Flow

1. Access ElevenLabs Feature: - User selects "Music" or "Audio" within InShot.
2. Select "AI Voiceover by ElevenLabs": A new option appears under audio sources.
3. Input Text: User types or pastes the script for the voiceover.
4. Choose Voice Settings: Selects language, voice type, tone, and style.
5. Preview Audio: User listens to a preview and makes adjustments if necessary.
6. Insert Voiceover: The AI-generated voiceover is added to the video timeline.
7. Finalize and Share: User completes editing and exports the video.

OBS Studio

Customer Journey Map:

1. Plugin Installation: User downloads the ElevenLabs Plugin from the OBS plugin repository.
2. Setting Up: User configures the plugin within OBS for live streaming or recording.
3. Value Addition: Users can add AI-generated voiceovers or announcements in real-time during streams.
4. Engagement: Enhanced streams attract more viewers, benefiting the user and ElevenLabs.

Integration flow:

1. Install Plugin: User downloads and installs the ElevenLabs plugin.
2. Configure Settings: Accesses plugin settings to authenticate and select preferences.
3. Add ElevenLabs Source: Adds a new audio source in OBS called "ElevenLabs AI Voice."
4. Input or Trigger Text: Sets up text inputs or triggers for live voice generation.
5. Live Use: During streaming, the AI voice can be activated as needed.

CapCut

Customer Journey Map:

1. Discovery: User opens CapCut, which now includes ElevenLabs integration.
2. Content Creation: User edits a video and accesses "AI Voiceover by ElevenLabs."
3. Value Addition: Ability to add professional voiceovers enhances the quality of short-form videos.
4. Engagement: Users are more likely to share high-quality content, increasing visibility for both CapCut and ElevenLabs.

Integration Flow:

1. Access ElevenLabs Feature: Within CapCut's audio options, user selects "AI Voiceover by ElevenLabs."
2. Input Text and Settings: Similar to InShot, user inputs text and selects voice parameters.
3. Add to Timeline: The voiceover is inserted into the video.
4. Edit and Share: User finalizes the video and shares it directly to platforms like TikTok.