ElevenLabs opens Brussels office, plans to triple Belgian team

ElevenLabs, the AI voice technology startup, has opened an office in Brussels, Belgium, and plans to triple its local team. The move reflects the company’s focus on multilingual AI and enterprise adoption, with Belgian firms and EU institutions already using its tools for applications ranging from healthcare to staffing.

Expansion into Belgium

Voice AI startup ElevenLabs has opened an office in Brussels, Belgium, located in the city’s European District near key EU institutions. According to The Next Web, the company plans to triple its Belgian team this year, hiring for sales, technical, and marketing roles. Most job openings require proficiency in English, French, and Dutch, reflecting Belgium’s multilingual environment.

Falke Van Onacker has been named to lead ElevenLabs’ Belgian operations. The company cited Belgium’s linguistic diversity as a key factor in its expansion, noting that over 100 languages are spoken daily in Brussels alone.

Multilingual AI adoption

ElevenLabs’ models support over 90 languages, a capability the company is leveraging to serve Belgian and European customers. According to The Next Web, several Belgian firms already use its tools:

Staffing platform Glowi employs ElevenLabs’ voice agents to screen job candidates and schedule calls in Dutch, French, and English. Healthcare software provider Corilus uses its ElevenScribe tool to transcribe Flemish-language patient calls, ensuring data remains within the EU and is not stored. AI assistant Cavell, which converts doctor-patient conversations into medical notes, is rolling out ElevenLabs’ technology to 8,000 doctors.

The EU has also adopted ElevenLabs’ tools to dub press conferences into multiple languages. Additionally, about 20 Belgian organizations receive grants from ElevenLabs for projects in education, the arts, and accessibility for disabled individuals.

Growth and partnerships

ElevenLabs raised $500 million in a Series D round in February, reaching an $11 billion valuation. Earlier this month, the company signed a licensing agreement with Universal Music, expanding its footprint in the media and entertainment sector. Its v4 speech models, launched recently, support 90 languages and are designed for enterprise applications, including voice agents with lower latency and improved expression control.

What this means

Lazyfounder analysis — our interpretation, not reported fact.

ElevenLabs’ expansion into Belgium is a strategic move that aligns with its focus on multilingual AI and enterprise adoption. By setting up shop in Brussels—a hub for the EU and a microcosm of linguistic diversity—the company is positioning itself to deepen relationships with European institutions and businesses. The decision to hire locally for roles requiring French, Dutch, and English reflects a pragmatic approach to serving regional needs, while the existing use cases in healthcare and staffing demonstrate tangible demand for its technology. For founders and operators, this expansion signals the importance of localizing AI tools not just linguistically, but also in terms of compliance (e.g., data staying within the EU) and industry-specific applications. It also underscores how AI startups with global ambitions can leverage regional strengths—like Belgium’s multilingual talent pool—to scale efficiently.

Key takeaways

• ElevenLabs’ Brussels office is a bet on Europe’s linguistic and regulatory landscape, with Belgium serving as a testbed for broader adoption.
• The company’s multilingual AI models are already in use across healthcare, staffing, and media, showing traction beyond early adopters.
• Local hiring for language-specific roles highlights the need for startups to adapt talent strategies when expanding into multilingual markets.
• Data privacy compliance (e.g., EU-based processing) is a key selling point for enterprise customers in regulated industries.

FAQ

Why did ElevenLabs choose Brussels for its expansion?

ElevenLabs cited Belgium’s linguistic diversity as a key reason for its expansion. Brussels is a multilingual hub with over 100 languages spoken daily, aligning with the company’s AI models, which support over 90 languages. The city’s proximity to EU institutions also makes it a strategic location for serving European customers.

What products does ElevenLabs offer to Belgian customers?

ElevenLabs provides voice agents, transcription tools like ElevenScribe, and multilingual AI models. Belgian firms use these tools for applications such as job candidate screening (Glowi), patient call transcription (Corilus), and medical note-taking (Cavell). The EU also uses ElevenLabs’ technology to dub press conferences into multiple languages.

How does ElevenLabs’ expansion impact hiring in Belgium?

ElevenLabs plans to triple its Belgian team, with job openings primarily in sales, technical, and marketing roles. Most positions require proficiency in English, French, and Dutch, reflecting the local linguistic landscape.

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