Every unanswered phone call can cost a business a customer. While many companies accept this as part of everyday operations, Indian-origin entrepreneur Apurva Shrivastava saw it as a problem worth solving. Drawing on lessons he learnt while helping in his parents' small business, he co-founded Avoca, an AI startup that answers customer calls for home service companies. Today, the company is valued at $1 billion (around Rs 8,300 crore).

How a childhood experience inspired Avoca

According to a Fortune report cited by TOI, Apurva Shrivastava grew up in Michigan, where his parents owned a small business. As a teenager, he often helped them by answering phone calls and assisting customer

It was during this time that he noticed a recurring problem. Whenever the business missed a call, the customer would often contact someone else instead. A single unanswered phone call could mean losing a job altogether.

Years later, that experience would become the basis for his entrepreneurial journey.

From MIT to launching an AI startup

Shrivastava studied computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2022, he co-founded Avoca with fellow MIT graduate Tyson Chen, whom he met during a poker night.

Chen had experienced a similar problem while growing up. His mother ran an acupuncture practice in Pennsylvania, where missed calls often meant losing potential customers. Having both witnessed the impact of unanswered phone calls on family businesses, the pair decided to build an AI-powered answering service.

Initially, they focused on restaurants. However, after speaking to businesses in the home services sector, they realised the financial impact of missed calls was much greater.

Speaking to Fortune, Chen explained the turning point. "When a restaurant misses a phone call, that's a $30, $40 order. When a home service business misses a phone call, that could be a $30,000–$40,000 HVAC install they're missing. So, instantly, we thought: 'Wait, this is a completely different order of magnitude.'"

The founders spent time with Rescue Air, where they recognised the scale of the opportunity. In 2023, they built a product specifically for the company, helping them secure their first customers.

How Avoca's AI voice agents work

Today, Avoca develops AI voice agents designed for home service businesses, including plumbers, electricians, HVAC technicians and roofers.

According to Shrivastava, these businesses form what he calls the "physical economy".

Rather than allowing customer calls to go unanswered or be diverted to voicemail, the AI answers instantly using a natural-sounding voice.

The technology goes beyond simply taking messages. It checks a company's live calendar, books appointments directly into its scheduling system and follows up on quotations that customers never accepted. This allows businesses to manage customer enquiries without requiring additional administrative staff.

A startup now valued at $1 billion

According to Fortune, Avoca has raised more than $125 million over the past few years, giving the company a valuation of $1 billion, or roughly Rs 8,300 crore.

The company has grown by focusing on a problem faced daily by thousands of small businesses, ensuring that every customer call is answered.

Why the founders focused on the home services industry

Shrivastava believes the biggest opportunity lies in businesses that depend on skilled workers rather than digital products.

Speaking to Fortune, he pointed to the rapid growth of the home services sector. The publication noted that the HVAC industry alone was worth around $50 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $75 billion by 2032.

"This is a huge growth moment in the home services economy," Shrivastava told Fortune.

He added: "All these stories are coming out now that basically say, 'With all that's happening in AI, the next million-dollar job is the job of a plumber, the job of a technician… What Avoca has realised is that these people are the main characters. No AI wave is replacing the job of a technician, at least in the next five years.'"

Inputs from TOI