Mati Staniszewski, co-founder and CEO of AI audio firm ElevenLabs, has expressed his view that AI models will eventually become standardized commodities—a notable perspective for a company currently dedicated to developing such models.
During his appearance at the TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 event on Tuesday, Staniszewski shared his insights on both the immediate and future directions of the AI audio industry.
Staniszewski mentioned that his team has managed to overcome several architectural hurdles in model development, and this area will remain a primary focus in the audio sector for the next year or two.
“In the long run, these models will become commodities—probably within the next few years,” Staniszewski remarked. “Although there may still be distinctions—especially for certain voices or languages—those differences will gradually become less significant.”
When asked why ElevenLabs continues to invest in model creation despite the expectation of commoditization, Staniszewski clarified that, for now, models represent the “most significant advantage and the biggest leap forward available today.”
He pointed out that if AI-generated voices or interactions lack quality, it remains a challenge that must be addressed.
“The solution is to develop the models internally, and eventually, other companies will also address these issues,” Staniszewski explained.
He further observed that those seeking dependable and scalable solutions will likely choose different models tailored to specific needs.
Looking ahead to the next couple of years, Staniszewski predicted that more models will adopt multi-modal or integrated strategies.
“This means you’ll be able to generate audio and video simultaneously, or combine audio with large language models for conversational applications,” he said, citing Google’s Veo 3 as an illustration of the potential when models are merged.
Staniszewski also revealed that ElevenLabs intends to collaborate with other organizations and utilize open source resources to explore how its audio capabilities can be integrated with the strengths of other models.
He stated that the company aims to prioritize both model innovation and practical applications to ensure lasting value.
“Just as Apple’s success was built on the synergy between software and hardware, we believe that the combination of product and AI will drive the most compelling use cases for this generation,” he concluded.
