Meet Apurva Shrivastava: Indian-origin engineer who turned a ‘missed call’ idea into $1 billion AI startup

In the high-stakes world of Silicon Valley, where billions are poured into chatbots and generative art, Apurva Shrivastava and Tyson Chen decided to look where few tech founders go: the local HVAC company. That decision has officially paid off. Their startup, 'Avoca', has reached a $1 billion valuation following a $125 million funding round led by Meritech Capital and General Catalyst, with participation from Kleiner Perkins.

The premise is rooted in a lesson Shrivastava learned while growing up in Michigan. As a first-generation Indian-American, he spent years helping his family manage phone calls for their business. He realized a brutal truth of the trades: in industries like plumbing, roofing, and electrical work, a missed call isn’t just a minor inconvenience but a lost contract.

From Michigan to MIT

Shrivastava is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and initially experimented with building AI answering services for restaurants. While a missed reservation might cost a restaurant $40, Shrivastava and Chen soon discovered that a missed call for an HVAC emergency could cost a contractor upwards of $40,000.

“When a restaurant misses a phone call, that’s a $40 order,” Chen told Fortune.

He added: “When a home service business misses a call, that could be a $40,000 HVAC install.”

Bridging the blue-collar cap

Unlike many AI firms aiming to automate desk work, Avoca focuses on the "main characters" of the physical economy: the technicians. The startup’s AI agents are designed to sound human, answer calls within seconds, and handle complex scheduling 24/7.

What sets Avoca apart is its deep integration with industry-specific softwares. The AI doesn't just take a message; it checks real-time calendars, books appointments directly into the company's system, and proactively follows up on old estimates that were never signed.

A trillion-collar opportunity

The market's response has been explosive. Avoca now serves over 800 customers, including national brands like 1-800-GOT-JUNK? and Goettl Air Conditioning. In 2025, the company surpassed eight figures in annual recurring revenue and is currently on track to book nearly $1 billion in jobs for its clients this year.

Investors are betting that "vertical AI", technology built for specific industries, is the next frontier. While Silicon Valley chases general-purpose intelligence, Shrivastava and Chen have found their fortune in the hum of air conditioners and the ring of a plumber’s phone, ensuring that in the $1 trillion home services economy, no call goes unanswered.