Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has pulled out of a summit run by portfolio company ElevenLabs, set to take place in New York this Wednesday, amid a broader withdrawal from speaking engagements. The decision follows a $70 million funding round that valued the AI voice startup at $1.1 billion, despite its reported revenue of just $63,000 in 2023. Huang had been scheduled to appear alongside other tech leaders, but his departure adds to growing scrutiny over ElevenLabs’ rapid rise and financial transparency. The summit, hosted by ElevenLabs, was expected to highlight advancements in AI-generated speech and voice cloning technologies.
The controversy stems from questions about the startup’s valuation and revenue mismatch, as well as ethical concerns over voice synthesis misuse. Nvidia, a major investor through its venture arm, has not commented on Huang’s withdrawal. ElevenLabs, founded in 2022 by Piotr Krzysztof Kozak and Mateusz Staniszewski, has become a leader in generative voice AI, serving clients in media, entertainment, and accessibility. The summit was intended to showcase new tools and partnerships, but now faces uncertainty without its headline speaker.
Source: Sifted · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing