NTT DOCOMO Ventures Invests in ElevenLabs, Inc., a Startup Using Generative AI to Produce Expressive Human-like Speech

NTT DOCOMO Ventures, Inc. (Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Jun Yasumoto) is pleased to announce that, through a fund that it manages, it has invested in ElevenLabs, Inc. (Head Office: USA; CEO: Mati Staniszewski; hereinafter “ElevenLabs”), a startup using generative AI to produce expressive human-like speech.

ElevenLabs is a startup that provides a speech synthesis platform based on its proprietary generative AI specializing in language models to generate natural speech that is extremely close to the human voice. Whereas conventional text-to-speech technology has had difficulty expressing emotion and inflection, ElevenLabs’ unique architecture enables its platform to produce high-quality speech using less data than required for previous techniques, and it is capable of reproducing the speech styles and emotions of a variety of speakers.
The company’s solutions are beginning to see use in a variety of applications. In the entertainment field, for example, they are expanding creative possibilities by streamlining the localization of audio for the global rollout of video productions. In the customer support field, the implementation of voice functionality in chatbots allows them to deal with customers just like a call center, improving the customer experience and enhancing the efficiency of companies’ support.

The NTT DOCOMO Group is looking into ways to use generative AI to facilitate global expansion in the entertainment domain, as well as in the field of next-generation communications. With this investment, we will deepen our collaboration with ElevenLabs and accelerate our efforts to develop solutions that utilize generative AI voice technology and to improve the customer experience.

■ElevenLabs, Inc. Profile