ElevenLabs vs OpenAI: Founders, CEOs and History
ElevenLabs was founded in 2022 by Mati Staniszewski, Piotr Dabkowski and is led by Mati Staniszewski. OpenAI was founded in 2015 by Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Greg Brockman and is led by Sam Altman.
Company facts
ElevenLabs
- Founded
- 2022
- Headquarters
- London, United Kingdom & New York City, New York, United States
- Current CEO
- Mati Staniszewski
- Employees
- 800
OpenAI
- Founded
- 2015
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, California, United States
- Current CEO
- Sam Altman
- Employees
- 4,500
Founders
ElevenLabs
Mati Staniszewski
Mati Staniszewski is the Polish-born co-founder and CEO of ElevenLabs. He grew up near Warsaw, studied mathematics at Imperial College London and worked at Palantir before starting ElevenLabs with school friend Piotr Dabkowski in 2022.
Piotr Dabkowski
Piotr Dabkowski is co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of ElevenLabs. He studied at the University of Cambridge, worked as a machine learning engineer at Google and leads the research behind ElevenLabs' speech, transcription and music models.
OpenAI
Sam Altman
Sam Altman co-chaired OpenAI at its 2015 founding and became CEO in 2019. He negotiated the Microsoft partnership, oversaw the ChatGPT launch in 2022, survived the board's brief attempt to remove him in November 2023, and led the October 2025 recapitalization…
Elon Musk
Elon Musk was an early co-chair and funder of OpenAI and left its board in February 2018. He later founded rival xAI in 2023 and sued OpenAI, Sam Altman and Greg Brockman in 2024, arguing the company abandoned its nonprofit mission.
Greg Brockman
Greg Brockman left his role as Stripe CTO to co-found OpenAI in 2015 and serves as president.
Ilya Sutskever
Ilya Sutskever was OpenAI's chief scientist from 2015 to May 2024, overseeing work behind the GPT series and ChatGPT. He voted to remove Sam Altman in November 2023, then said he regretted it. After leaving OpenAI he co-founded Safe Superintelligence Inc.
CEOs and their tenures
ElevenLabs
- Mati Staniszewski2022–present
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Has led ElevenLabs since founding, taking it from beta in 2023 to a $22 billion valuation in 2026.
Source - Piotr Dabkowski2022–present
Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer
Leads research behind ElevenLabs' voice, transcription and music models.
Source
OpenAI
- Greg Brockman2015–present
President and Co-founder
Former Stripe CTO; returned from a 2024 sabbatical and remains president.
Source - Mira Murati2018–2024
Chief Technology Officer and interim CEO (former)
Served as interim CEO for two days in November 2023; left OpenAI in 2024.
Source - Sam Altman2019–present
Chief Executive Officer
Co-founder and CEO who turned OpenAI from a research lab into a consumer and enterprise platform; briefly removed by the board in November 2023 and reinstated days later.
Source - Fidji Simo2025–2026
CEO of Applications (former)
Former Instacart CEO who ran ChatGPT and other applications; stepped down from the full-time role in July 2026 for health reasons and stayed on as an adviser.
Source - Vijaye Raji2025–present
CTO of Applications
Statsig founder who joined via the 2025 acquisition to head product engineering for ChatGPT and Codex.
Source
Timeline: ElevenLabs and OpenAI side by side
2015OpenAI
OpenAI founded as a nonprofit
OpenAI launched in December 2015 as a nonprofit AI research lab.
2019OpenAI
Capped-profit entity and Microsoft deal
OpenAI created a capped-profit subsidiary and received a $1 billion investment from Microsoft.
2022ElevenLabs
ElevenLabs founded
Mati Staniszewski and Piotr Dabkowski start the company to build expressive AI voice and dubbing.
2022OpenAI
ChatGPT launch
ChatGPT launched on November 30, 2022 and reached 100 million users faster than any prior consumer app.
2023ElevenLabs
Public beta and $19M Series A
Beta launches in January; Series A co-led by Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross and Andreessen Horowitz follows in June.
2023OpenAI
Board crisis
The nonprofit board removed Sam Altman in November 2023; he returned as CEO within days and the board was rebuilt.
2024ElevenLabs
$80M Series B at $1.1B valuation
January 2024 round makes ElevenLabs a unicorn; the company later launches its Conversational AI agent platform and Reader app.
2025ElevenLabs
$180M Series C at $3.3B; ARR passes $330M
January 2025 round co-led by a16z and ICONIQ; Eleven v3 and Eleven Music launch during the year.
2025OpenAI
Acquired Jony Ive's io
OpenAI agreed to buy hardware startup io for just under $6.5 billion in an all-equity deal.
2025OpenAI
Recapitalization into OpenAI Group PBC
In October 2025 the for-profit became a public benefit corporation controlled by the OpenAI Foundation; Microsoft received about 27%.
2026ElevenLabs
$500M Series D at $11B
Sequoia Capital leads the February 2026 round; ARR passes $500 million in April.
2026ElevenLabs
$300M employee tender at $22B
September 30, 2026 tender co-led by Wellington and T. Rowe Price doubles the Series D valuation.
2026OpenAI
$122B funding round
OpenAI closed $122 billion in committed capital at an $852 billion post-money valuation on March 31, 2026.
2026OpenAI
Run rate nears $70B
Axios reported in September 2026 that annual recurring revenue was nearing $70 billion.
Acquisitions
ElevenLabs
No verified acquisitions are listed.
OpenAI
- io Products2025$6.5B
- Statsig2025$1.1B
- Rockset2024Undisclosed
- Global Illumination2023Undisclosed
Questions about ElevenLabs vs OpenAI
Who is the CEO of ElevenLabs and OpenAI?
ElevenLabs is led by Mati Staniszewski and OpenAI is led by Sam Altman. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was ElevenLabs founded vs OpenAI?
OpenAI was founded in 2015 — 7 years before ElevenLabs, which was founded in 2022. OpenAI's longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger ElevenLabs.
How many employees does ElevenLabs have compared to OpenAI?
ElevenLabs employs approximately 800 people, while OpenAI employs approximately 4,500. OpenAI has the larger workforce at 4,500 employees, compared to ElevenLabs's 800. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are ElevenLabs and OpenAI headquartered?
Both ElevenLabs and OpenAI are headquartered in United States, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.
Who founded ElevenLabs and OpenAI?
ElevenLabs was founded by Mati Staniszewski, Piotr Dabkowski. OpenAI was founded by Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever.
Which company has a longer operating history — ElevenLabs or OpenAI?
OpenAI has been operating for approximately 11 years, making it the more established of the two companies. ElevenLabs has been in operation for around 4 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the ElevenLabs vs OpenAI overview