Yazılar

ElevenLabs Staff to Sell Shares at $6.6 Billion Valuation

/in /tarafından

ElevenLabs, the fast-growing voice cloning AI startup, is allowing employees to sell shares at a $6.6 billion valuation, double its January 2024 value of $3.3 billion, according to Bloomberg News. The move highlights the ongoing competition among AI firms to retain top talent by offering stock liquidity.

The tender offer will enable staff who have worked at the company for at least a year to sell up to $100 million worth of shares, giving them an opportunity to cash out while allowing investors to boost stakes. Sequoia Capital and Iconiq are leading the deal, joined by Andreessen Horowitz and other backers.

Founded by Piotr Dabkowski (ex-Google) and Mati Staniszewski (ex-Palantir), ElevenLabs has seen explosive growth. Its headcount jumped from 77 employees to 331 in a year, while annualized recurring revenue surged from $100 million in October 2024 to $200 million in mid-2025. The company aims to hit $300 million by year-end.

The valuation leap puts ElevenLabs among the most valuable AI startups in the world. It comes as OpenAI also explores an employee stock sale that could value it at $500 billion, underscoring how AI’s growth is reshaping private markets.

AI Accounting Startup Rillet Raises $70 Million in Andreessen Horowitz, ICONIQ-led Funding Round

/in /tarafından

Rillet, an AI-driven accounting software startup, announced it has secured $70 million in a Series B funding round co-led by venture capital giants Andreessen Horowitz and ICONIQ. The new capital round values the company at approximately $500 million, according to sources close to the deal.

This latest round also included participation from Sequoia Capital, Oak HC/FT, and FOG Ventures, bringing Rillet’s total funding to over $100 million within a few months. Founded by Nicolas Kopp, the former U.S. head of digital bank N26, Rillet aims to disrupt traditional accounting tools dominated by Oracle and Microsoft by offering AI-powered ledger software that automates accounting tasks and delivers real-time insights.

Rillet’s platform integrates with systems such as Salesforce, Stripe, and Brex, allowing finance teams to close books within hours instead of weeks. The startup has already attracted over 200 customers, including AI-assisted coding platform Windsurf and e-commerce marketing company Postscript.

The company reported doubling its annual recurring revenue in just 12 weeks and has formed partnerships with accounting firms like Armanino and Wiss. The fresh funding will accelerate platform development and expand the engineering team.

As part of the funding round, Andreessen Horowitz’s Alex Rampell and ICONIQ’s Seth Pierrepont will join Rillet’s board of directors.

Travel Tech Firm Navan Confidentially Files for U.S. IPO

/in /tarafından

Navan, a corporate travel and expense management company based in Palo Alto, California, announced on Friday that it has confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering (IPO). The company has not yet disclosed the terms of the offering.

Backed by investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed, Navan raised $304 million in equity and structured debt financing in 2022, when it was valued at $9.2 billion. The filing comes amid renewed optimism in the U.S. IPO market, which has seen a resurgence after a slow start to 2025.

Recent IPO successes in the technology and finance sectors, such as space and defense tech company Voyager Technologies and advertising technology firm MNTN, have helped build momentum. Shares of Chime Financial also surged in a notable New York debut, encouraging upcoming offerings from crypto exchange Gemini and fintech company Klarna.

Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, highlighted growing IPO activity and interest from both institutional investors and traders eager to participate in strong growth opportunities with reasonable valuations.

Founded in 2015 originally as TripActions, Navan began as a corporate travel management platform designed to modernize services traditionally provided by companies like American Express and SAP Concur. It later broadened its offerings to include corporate payments and expense management.

Navan’s client roster includes companies such as Zoom Communications and Lyft, according to its website.