At the recent TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 conference, Mati Staniszewski, the founder of ElevenLabs, shared insights into the evolving landscape of AI audio models. He emphasized that both short-term and long-term trends indicate a significant shift in how these technologies will be utilized across various industries.
Staniszewski pointed out that new AI models are rapidly emerging. Over the next few years, they will undoubtedly adopt multi-modal or fused models. Narration and audio generation will become a format that is integrated with other media types. This kind of integration will help creators make richer, more immersive content.
“So, you will create audio and video at the same time, or audio and LLMs at the same time in a conversational setting,” – Mati Staniszewski [TechCrunch]
During his presentation, Staniszewski forecasted that the AI audio space will move towards commoditization in the short-term future. He stated, “Over the long term, it will commoditize — over the next couple of years.” This change is the result of speed and intent—the breathtaking pace of a technological revolution. Because of this, more players are entering the space to provide AI audio tools and assets.
Staniszewski elaborated on the significance of developing proprietary models, highlighting that “the only way to solve it is… building the models yourself, and then, over the long term, there will be other players that will solve that, too.” This phrase highlights how cutthroat the industry is becoming with the changing times.
The future of this important discussion at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 drew the relevant players from across the industry, including regular TechCrunch reporter Sarah Perez. Having spent upward of 11 years covering the impact of new technologies on society, Perez has worked as a thought leader in the tech industry. Before jumping to TechCrunch — in what proved to be another prescient move — in August 2011, she spent more than three years at ReadWriteWeb.
Email sarahp@techcrunch.com Sarah can be reached with encrypted messaging at sarahperez.01 on Signal