AUSTIN, Texas, March 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- This Friday at SXSW, ElevenLabs will advance its '1 Million Voices' initiative, a commitment to provide 1 million people living with permanent voice loss free access to its voice restoration technology - a $1 billion in-kind investment - by launching a global effort to find and support those living with permanent voice loss.

The initiative is being championed by actor Rebecca Gayheart Dane, who will join ElevenLabs at SXSW to honor the legacy of her late husband, actor Eric Dane. Eric, who lived with ALS, used ElevenLabs' technology to restore his voice and was an early advocate for the program.

The centerpiece of this effort is the premiere of 11 Voices - the first docuseries where people with voice loss narrate their own stories using their AI-generated voices. By showing the human impact of AI-enabled voice restoration, ElevenLabs aims to reach more people living with voice loss across every country and language.

Restoring identity and connection

The 11 Voices docuseries follows 11 individuals from the US and UK living with conditions such as ALS and Cerebral Palsy. Featured stories include:

• Scott, a stroke survivor who now uses his AI voice to give public lectures again.
• Pam, a hospital chaplain with ALS who has returned to counseling patients.
• Bryan, a brain-injury survivor who has regained the ability to socialize and create music.
• Abdi, who has cerebral palsy and once was nonverbal, now uses his voice to pursue acting and modeling.

The series shows how restoring someone's voice can restore their sense of self. By using AI to bring back the specific warmth and nuance that make a person's voice unique, ElevenLabs is helping people reconnect with their families, friends, coworkers and themselves.

"When someone loses their voice, they often lose their independence and connection with the people they love," said Mati Staniszewski, cofounder of ElevenLabs. "The most rewarding part of building ElevenLabs is using our technology to help restore someone's agency and sense of identity, no matter where they live or what language they speak."

Voice restoration at SXSW

The docuseries will premiere at SXSW during a live panel titled "Hello Again: Restoring Voices with AI." Moderated by Kamala Avila-Salmon (CEO of Kas Kas Productions), the session will feature ElevenLabs cofounder Mati Staniszewski alongside actor Rebecca Gayheart Dane.

Honoring the legacy of Eric Dane, who was an early champion of the 1 Million Voices program, Rebecca has stepped forward to help ensure that everyone facing a similar diagnosis can access the same technology that allowed Eric to restore his voice.

"Our voices are such an important part of who we are, and something most of us take for granted," said Rebecca Gayheart Dane. "As Eric's speech became gradually more impaired, I watched how that loss dimmed so much of his joy and sense of self. When he received his ElevenLabs voice, it made him emotional to have that part of himself back, and to know our daughters would always be able to hear his voice. It sounded just like him. Eric wanted to help as many people as possible through his advocacy work, and I hope to carry on his wishes by championing this program in his honor."

The session will also feature Yvonne Johnson, who is profiled in the docuseries. In a powerful demonstration of the technology's impact, Yvonne will participate in the discussion live on stage using her own ElevenLabs-powered voice.

Expanding the 1 million voices initiative

The program started in 2024 as a small project in the U.S. to help people with ALS. Since then, it has grown to support anyone in the world with permanent voice loss, regardless of their medical diagnosis.

To date, ElevenLabs has supported approximately 7,000 individuals and built a network of more than 800 nonprofit and communications partners worldwide. The company's nonprofit partners span 49 countries - across every continent - and all 50 U.S. states. Together with strategic partners in the U.S., U.K., Africa, New Zealand, and Australia, and expanding collaborations across Latin America and the Global South, ElevenLabs is working to ensure this technology reaches people in every language and region.

The initiative provides eligible users with a free ElevenLabs license for life. Participants use past recordings to create a digital version of their voice that integrates with assistive devices, allowing them to use their own voices in daily communication. Participants keep full ownership of their voice models and decide how they are used.

Join the initiative

ElevenLabs is looking to reach more people who can benefit from this technology. Individuals living with voice loss and the non-profits that support them can apply at elevenlabs.io/impact-program

How to watch 11 Voices

The series is available to stream HERE, as well as on ElevenLabs' YouTube channel and Spotify. The official trailer, narrated by Sir Michael Caine in his ElevenLabs voice, can be viewed HERE.

About ElevenLabs

ElevenLabs is an AI research and product company transforming how we interact with technology. We launched in January 2023 with the first human-like AI voice model. Today, we serve millions of users and thousands of businesses across three main platforms. ElevenAgents enables businesses to deliver seamless and intelligent customer experiences, with the integrations, testing, monitoring, and reliability necessary to deploy voice and chat agents at scale. ElevenCreative empowers creators and marketers to generate and edit speech, music, image, and video across 70+ languages. ElevenAPI gives developers access to our leading AI audio foundational models.

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SOURCE ElevenLabs