Top tech and startup stories to start your day with

Voice AI company ElevenLabs' CEO Mati Staniszewski has dismissed calls for a general slowdown in AI development, stating that deployment should only be halted in cases where technology is deemed unsafe. The 31-year-old cofounder and CEO emphasized the need to balance societal benefits against potential risks. Recently, ElevenLabs completed a $300 million employee tender offer, doubling its valuation to $22 billion in just eight months.

The India market remains its second-largest and is experiencing rapid growth. The company plans to extend its AI voice technology to all 22 Indian languages in the coming months, currently supporting 14 languages with its latest text-to-speech model, Eleven V4. Garuda Aerospace, a drone technology company based in Chennai, raised approximately $10 million in a pre-IPO funding round led by the Motherson family office and Dubai-based Aditum Investment Group.

The company targets a public listing in Q1 2027, with an expected IPO value of Rs 1,000 crore. India is anticipated to become ServiceNow's fastest-growing market in Asia, with the enterprise software company planning to double its India workforce and invest aggressively in sales, product, and engineering teams. Mamaearth and Nykaa, beauty and personal care brands, are optimistic about their Q2 2023 performance, projecting strong growth momentum.

Additionally, Bengaluru-based deeptech startup Quanfluence secured $10 million in a funding round led by Chiratae Ventures, aiming to build a comprehensive photonic quantum computer.