ElevenLabs, the voice artificial intelligence company valued at US$22 billion, will give up to 44 million platform credits to Chilean startups over 12 months, under the memorandum of understanding it signed with Chile's Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation, DPL News reported on November 12. The announcement was made in New York on November 11, according to Ecosistema Startup. The credits can be used to generate voice, transcribe audio, create music and build conversational voice agents.
The agreement is not a guaranteed delivery contract: according to the text quoted by the press, ElevenLabs "states its intention" to provide the credits, and the company will set the requirements and choose the startups. The ministry will act as a facilitator and promote the call for applications, which still has no date or published rules. This article explains what ElevenLabs is, what the memorandum with the Ministry of Science includes and how much those credits are worth at list price.
View the data as a table
| Credits pledged | 44 million |
| Duration | 12 months |
| ElevenLabs valuation | US$ 22 B |
| Tools included | 4 |
What ElevenLabs' agreement with the Ministry of Science includes
The memorandum sets a cap of 44,000,000 platform usage credits, to be shared among eligible Chilean startups over a total period of 12 months. In addition, ElevenLabs' team will provide technical support to the selected companies. These are the known points, according to DPL News and Ecosistema Startup:
| Memorandum item | What is known |
|---|---|
| Credits | Up to 44 million in total |
| Term | 12 months |
| Tools | Voice generation, transcription, music generation and conversational voice agents |
| Who selects | ElevenLabs, under its own criteria and policies |
| Ministry's role | Facilitator: promotes the initiative in the innovation ecosystem |
| Applications | No date or published rules as of November 15 |
| Number of startups | Not disclosed |
Science Minister Ximena Lincolao said that "this collaboration gives Chilean entrepreneurs access to exceptional technology", and ElevenLabs' chief executive and co-founder, Mati Staniszewski, said that "voice is becoming the main way people interact with technology", according to DPL News. Lincolao, who took office in March 2026, has placed artificial intelligence at the center of the ministry's agenda.
What ElevenLabs is and how much it is worth
ElevenLabs is an audio artificial intelligence company founded in 2022 by Poles Piotr Dąbkowski and Mati Staniszewski, headquartered in London with offices in New York, Warsaw and San Francisco. Its best-known product turns text into very natural-sounding speech in more than 70 languages, and it also clones voices, dubs videos, transcribes audio (Scribe), generates music (Eleven Music) and offers voice agents for customer service (ElevenAgents). It has about 400 employees, according to Wikipedia, citing CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters and Bloomberg.
Its valuation has multiplied more than 200-fold since 2023. In February 2026 it raised US$500 million at an US$11 billion valuation, according to Wikipedia, citing CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters and Bloomberg, and in September an employee share sale valued it at US$22 billion. That last figure is not fresh money for the company but the price at which investors bought shares from staff.
| Date | Transaction | Amount | Valuation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2023 | Pre-seed | US$ 2 M | - |
| Jun 2023 | Series A | US$ 19 M | ~US$100 M |
| Jan 2024 | Series B | US$ 80 M | US$1.1 B |
| Jan 2025 | Series C | US$ 180 M | US$3.3 B |
| Sep 2025 | Employee share sale | - | US$6.6 B |
| Feb 2026 | Equity round | US$ 500 M | US$11 B |
| Sep 2026 | Employee share sale | - | US$22 B |
Source: Wikipedia, citing CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters and Bloomberg. ElevenLabs' revenue is not public; its chief executive has spoken of about US$600 million annualized, a figure reported by the company and not audited.
How much ElevenLabs' 44 million credits are worth
ElevenLabs sells its plans in monthly credits. In text to speech, one credit generally equals one character, although some fast models charge between 0.5 and 1 credit per character, according to its ElevenLabs pricing page, accessed November 15, 2026. So the 44 million credits are enough to turn about 44 million characters into audio, the equivalent of several hundred books. These are the published plans:
| Free | 0 | 10,000 | 4,400.0 |
| Starter | 6 | 30,000 | 1,466.7 |
| Creator | 22 | 121,000 | 363.6 |
| Pro | 99 | 600,000 | 73.3 |
| Scale | 299 | 1,800,000 | 24.4 |
| Business | 990 | 6,000,000 | 7.3 |
Vivarae News calculation: on the Business plan, the largest with a published price, 44 million credits equal about 7.3 months of subscription, roughly US$7,260 at list price; on the Scale plan, about US$7,300. This is a reference, not the value the ministry or the company assigned to the contribution, which was not disclosed. The amount is modest compared with other initiatives in the ecosystem, such as Corfo's Fund of Funds, but access to tools with technical support is what early-stage startups value most.
What Chilean startups can use ElevenLabs' voice AI for
The four tools included in the agreement cover the most common uses of voice AI at young companies:
- Voice generation: voice-overs for videos, audiobooks, online courses and ads, with accents and voices in Spanish and other languages.
- Transcription: turning meetings, interviews, calls or classes into text, with the Scribe model.
- Music: original tracks for videos, games or advertising, with Eleven Music.
- Voice agents: assistants that answer the phone, book appointments or handle complaints, one of the fastest-growing areas in banking, retail and health.
Using these tools has legal limits: cloning a person's voice without permission may violate their rights, and the new personal data law, which takes effect in 2027, protects biometric data, a category voice may fall into. Since 2023 ElevenLabs has had a classifier to detect audio generated with its technology, and in January 2024 its tools were linked to robocalls imitating Joe Biden's voice in the United States.
ElevenLabs and other AI agreements in Chile in 2026
The ElevenLabs memorandum comes in a week of technology announcements in Chile. On the same day, November 11, Amazon Web Services opened its cloud region in Chile, with an investment of more than US$4 billion, and in October the Latin American Artificial Intelligence Index again ranked Chile first in the region. In June, ElevenLabs signed a similar memorandum with the UK government, focused on public services, AI safety and talent, according to Ecosistema Startup.
- 2022FoundedPiotr Dąbkowski and Mati Staniszewski start the company.
- Jan 2024UnicornSeries B values it at US$1.1 billion.
- Jun 2025Eleven v3Voice model in more than 70 languages.
- Feb 2026US$11 billionRaises US$500 million.
- Jun 2026UK agreementMemorandum with the British government.
- Sep 2026US$22 billionEmployee share sale.
- Nov 11, 2026Agreement with ChileUp to 44 million credits for startups.
| Initiative in Chile (2026) | What it is | Key figure |
|---|---|---|
| ElevenLabs and Ministry of Science | Voice AI credits for startups | Up to 44 million credits |
| AWS region in Chile | Amazon data centers | More than US$4 billion over 15 years |
| ILIA 2026 index | Regional AI ranking | Chile first, with 71.4 points |
Frequently asked questions
What is ElevenLabs?
An audio artificial intelligence company founded in 2022 that turns text into speech, clones and dubs voices, transcribes audio, generates music and builds voice agents.
How do you apply for ElevenLabs' credits in Chile?
There is no call for applications yet. The Ministry of Science will promote the process and ElevenLabs will set the requirements and choose the startups.
Is ElevenLabs free?
It has a free plan with 10,000 credits a month. Paid plans range from US$6 to US$990 a month.
How much is ElevenLabs worth?
US$22 billion, according to the September 2026 employee share sale. Its last equity round, in February, was at US$11 billion.
