Lace AI, a revenue intelligence startup founded by ex-Meta and VMware engineer Boris Valkov, has raised $14 million in seed funding to expand its AI-driven software for the home services industry.
The new round—led by Bek Ventures—brings Lace’s total funding to $19 million, including an earlier, unannounced $5 million pre-seed round backed by Canvas Ventures, Horizon VC, Launchub, and angel investors such as Snowflake co-founder Marcin Zukowski and Vivino’s Heini Zachariassen.
Turning Missed Calls into Millions
Based in Mountain View, Lace AI offers software that analyzes 100% of customer service calls for companies in home services verticals—think HVAC, plumbing, roofing, and home remodeling. These industries rely heavily on inbound phone calls for booking services, making every interaction a potential source of revenue.
“Even a 1% increase in booking rates could translate into millions in additional revenue for these businesses,” said Valkov.
The platform uses AI to detect lost revenue opportunities from missed or mishandled calls, offering insights to help support agents improve conversion. Lace AI claims that some customers have already seen double-digit revenue growth as a result.
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A Founder’s Path: From Family Store to PyTorch to Startups
Valkov’s journey started in his family’s grocery store, where he saw firsthand the power of customer service. Years later, he helped build PyTorch at Meta, and realized AI could transform the application layer—specifically in overlooked sectors like home services.
Partnering with co-founder Stan Stoyanov, the duo spoke with over 100 businesses to better understand pain points, and quickly zeroed in on call centers as the critical point of conversion for these companies.
“Most tools in the space only sample a portion of calls. We monitor all of them,” said Valkov.
Rapid Growth and SaaS Business Model
Lace AI officially started selling its product at the end of 2023 and has already seen 1,000% ARR growth in 2024. Its clients include A1 Garage Door Service, Sage Home, Eco Plumbers, Matrix, and Lee’s Air.
The company operates under a SaaS model, charging businesses a monthly fee per customer support agent. While Valkov declined to disclose exact revenue figures or valuation, he confirmed the latest raise was an up round.
What’s Next
With a team of 20 employees, Lace AI plans to triple its headcount following the new funding. The capital will be used to scale product development, customer success, and go-to-market efforts.
“There’s a growing push to bring AI into sectors that have historically been ignored by Silicon Valley,” said Mehmet Atici, managing partner at Bek Ventures. “The Lace team has both the technical depth and practical understanding to do that effectively.”
