He learned one lesson at his family's Michigan business. Now it's a $1 billion AI startup

For Apurva Shrivastava, a missed phone call became the idea that changed his life. The Indian-origin entrepreneur, who grew up helping his parents run their small business in Michigan, noticed something many people ignored and that was missed call. Every missed customer call often meant a lost sale.

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Years later, that childhood observation inspired him to build Avoca, an AI startup that has now reached a $1 billion valuation (around ₹8,300 crore) after raising more than $125 million from top Silicon Valley investors. Today, Avoca is helping plumbers, electricians, HVAC technicians and other home service businesses ensure they never miss another customer call.

Who is Apurva Shrivastava?

Apurva Shrivastava is an Indian-origin entrepreneur and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) graduate who co-founded AI startup Avoca in 2022. He grew up in Michigan as a first-generation Indian-American. His parents owned a small business, and as a teenager, Shrivastava regularly helped answer customer calls, according to reports.

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It was during those years that he realized something important. Whenever the phone rang and no one answered, customers simply called another business.

That meant one missed call could instantly become lost revenue and the lesson stayed with him long after childhood.

From Michigan to MIT

Shrivastava went on to study Computer Science at MIT, where he developed the technical skills that would later help him build his startup. In 2022, he teamed up with fellow MIT graduate Tyson Chen, whom he met during a poker night.

Chen had experienced a similar problem growing up. His mother owned an acupuncture clinic in Pennsylvania, and he had also seen how unanswered phone calls could hurt a small business.

Together, the two founders realized they had lived different versions of the same story.

The startup idea began with restaurants

Initially, Apurva Shrivastava and Tyson Chen wanted to build an AI-powered answering service for restaurants. But after spending time with Rescue Air, an HVAC company, they discovered a much bigger opportunity.

Tyson Chen explained to Fortune: “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.’”

Instead of focusing on restaurants, they decided to build AI specifically for home service businesses.

What does Avoca do?

Founded in 2022, Avoca develops AI voice agents that answer customer calls for businesses like:

• Plumbers
• Electricians
• HVAC contractors
• Roofers
• Home repair companies

Its software can:

• Answer calls instantly
• Sound like a real human conversation
• Check live calendars
• Book appointments automatically
• Follow up on old customer estimates
• Integrate directly with business software

The goal is to ensure businesses never lose customers because nobody answered the phone.

A billion-dollar AI startup

According to Fortune, Avoca has raised more than $125 million, including a recent funding round led by Meritech Capital and General Catalyst, with participation from Kleiner Perkins. The funding has pushed the company to a $1 billion valuation, or nearly ₹8,300 crore.

Today, Avoca serves more than 800 customers, including well-known brands like 1-800-GOT-JUNK and Goettl Air Conditioning. The company is also on track to help generate nearly $1 billion worth of jobs for its customers this year.

Speaking to Fortune, Shrivastava said: “This is a huge growth moment in the home services economy.”

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.’”

Why Avoca stands out

The AI industry is crowded with chatbots and writing assistants, Avoca has taken a different approach.

Rather than replacing workers, its AI is designed to help technicians and contractors win more business by making sure every customer call gets answered. For many small businesses that cannot afford a full-time receptionist, that can make a significant difference.