ElevenLabs explores employee stock sale at $22 billion valuation, Bloomberg News reports

July 2 (Reuters) - AI voice generation firm ElevenLabs is exploring a secondary share sale that would allow employees to sell stock, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The proposed transaction could value the company at about $22 billion and is expected to occur by September, the report added.

AI startups engaged in fierce competition for talent have been increasingly letting employees sell stock as they race to retain and attract top researchers and engineers.

Founded by Piotr Dabkowski and CEO Mati Staniszewski in 2022, London-based ElevenLabs builds AI tools, including a platform that turns text into realistic speech.

The company raised $500 million in a Series D round in February that valued the company at $11 billion.

ElevenLabs declined to comment on the Bloomberg report.

(Reporting by Pragyan Kalita in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)