Voice-focused artificial intelligence company ElevenLabs announced Wednesday the opening of a Brussels office in the European District, positioning itself near the heart of EU institutions. The startup, valued at $11 billion following a February Series D round of $500 million, has appointed Falke Van Onacker to oversee Belgian operations and intends to expand its local headcount threefold throughout the year, with the majority of new hires based in the capital.
Belgium's linguistic diversity forms the cornerstone of ElevenLabs' rationale for the expansion. The country's three official languages and Brussels' status as a hub where over 100 languages are spoken daily align with the company's capabilities—its models support speech, listening and translation across more than 90 languages.
Mati Staniszewski, ElevenLabs' cofounder and chief executive, framed the move strategically: "Belgium, and in particular Brussels, is one of the most interesting places in the world for voice and language."
Existing Belgian partnerships
The company already maintains working relationships with several established Belgian organizations. Staffing firm Glowi deploys ElevenLabs voice agents for candidate screening and appointment scheduling in Dutch, French and English. Medical software developer Corilus integrates the ElevenScribe tool to transcribe patient conversations in Flemish, with data remaining within EU borders and not retained. Cavell, a physician-focused AI assistant, leverages ElevenLabs technology to convert spoken language into clinical documentation and is rolling out access to 8,000 doctors.
In the publishing sector, Mediafin—owner of newspapers De Tijd and L'Echo—converts approximately 10 million monthly text characters into Dutch and French audio content. The European Union itself has utilized ElevenLabs services to translate press conferences into multiple languages.
Beyond commercial clients, roughly 20 Belgian organizations have received ElevenLabs grants supporting initiatives in education, cultural work and accessibility for people with disabilities.
Van Onacker commented on the expansion's purpose: "Demand for care, assistance, and human expertise continues to rise. We're building localized voice agents to extend expertise in every language and at every hour here."
Hiring and recent milestones
ElevenLabs is actively recruiting across sales, technical and marketing functions in Belgium, with most positions requiring proficiency in English, French and Dutch. The Belgian expansion arrives shortly after the company signed its inaugural licensing agreement with Universal Music, marking the first partnership with a major record label.
Source: The Next Web
