# ElevenLabs CTO Alex Holt Scales Agentic AI Across Operations Voice AI startup deploys autonomous agents to streamline sales, recruiting, and internal workflows. - **Source:** [Fortune](https://fortune.com) - **Published:** 2026-11-04 - **Topic:** [technology](https://brifing.si/c/technology) - **Original article:** - **On Brifing:** https://brifing.si/s/9ee86eff-29c5-40c9-9795-a0ff4ebfa6ff ## Scaling Autonomous AI Agents ElevenLabs has aggressively integrated AI agents into its core operations, including sales development and recruitment. An inbound sales agent has already processed over 3,000 leads in 32 languages without human intervention. Additionally, the company utilizes AI for employee onboarding, role-playing simulations, and answering internal Slack queries regarding various business processes. ## Strategic Organizational Structure To facilitate this transition, ElevenLabs embeds engineers directly into small, cross-functional teams of fewer than ten people. For instance, HR departments work alongside forward-deployed engineers to optimize hiring workflows. This structure ensures that AI tools remain aligned with specific business unit objectives rather than being managed as isolated technical projects. ## Efficiency Gains and Metrics CTO Alex Holt emphasizes that AI agents serve as tools to enhance existing business metrics, such as revenue generation and customer satisfaction. By automating initial candidate screenings, recruiters save 30 minutes per interaction, allowing them to focus on high-value tasks like candidate persuasion. The company maintains its focus on traditional performance indicators. ## Multi-Agent System Development The next phase for ElevenLabs involves building complex multi-agent systems capable of autonomous handoffs. One recent success involved two agents completing an entire sales cycle, from initial inquiry to legal contract handling. This evolution aims to automate repetitive mechanical tasks, freeing human employees to address complex requests and strategic upselling opportunities. ## Governance and Error Management ElevenLabs employs a human-led monitoring layer to govern agent behavior and mitigate risks. When an agent erroneously issued a small refund without escalation, the team simulated the specific reasoning chain to update guardrails. Holt notes that tracking agent decisions provides superior data collection compared to human oversight, which often misses such errors. ## Broad Industry AI Trends The shift toward agentic AI is becoming a central focus for CTOs and CIOs globally. According to industry research, the share of value derived from agentic AI is projected to rise from 22% this year to 39% by 2030. Many businesses currently struggle to orchestrate these complex, multi-agent workflows effectively. ## Leadership and Growth Trajectory Alex Holt, formerly of Palantir Technologies, became CTO in June 2026. Following this leadership transition, the startup doubled its valuation to $22 billion by September 2026. CEO Mati Staniszewski has signaled that the company is currently planning for a potential initial public offering, which is tentatively targeted for the year 2028. ## Future of Process Optimization Holt believes the current efficiency gains are merely the beginning, with significant improvements expected within six months. As companies move beyond simple automation, the focus will shift toward optimizing these interconnected processes. ElevenLabs continues to empower employees to build their own agents, fostering a culture of continuous operational improvement through technology. ## Sources covering this story - https://fortune.com/2026/11/04/waters-new-ai-tool-targets-one-of-the-pharmaceutical-industrys-most-tedious-tasks-2/ — --- _Summary written by Brifing from the original reporting. Copyright in the original article belongs to its publisher; read the full piece at the link above._