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As an AI engineer at Meta , Boris Valkov helped build PyTorch , one of the creation ’s largest machine learning libraries .
During his time there , Valkov realized that unreal intelligence “ was about to unlock capabilities … in the lotion level in the software stack . ”
He go forth Meta in late 2021 to startLace AI , a startup that has develop AI - driven client service software for home table service caller .
The path to entrepreneurship started when Valkov was a boy , working in the family food market store business . It taught him the great power of telephone customer service . As an adult , he began to look for ways to conflate his interest in AI and client armed service . The idea for Lace was born .
Taking his year of software engineering experience at VMware and Meta , Valkov team up with Stan Stoyanov and direct to marry AI with customer inspection and repair to help oneself businesses generate extra taxation .
The pair sing to more than 100 companies in unlike industries and verticals and discovered that in the home avail perpendicular , many sales begin with a call made to a call center . dwelling service let in companies such as HVAC , plumbing system , and roofing , among others .
The premise behind Lace is that if a customer calls in to one of these business , it can either exchange into a sales agreement — or not . The company lay claim its software can aid ameliorate the chances of call conversion .
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Specifically , Lace ’s revenue tidings computer software use AI engineering science to analyze all the calls coming into these businesses to find miss taxation opportunities . It claims that it ’s more comprehensive than other like offerings in that it monitors 100 % of the call rather than a lot of them . It analyzes each interaction “ to assure that no potential lead or opportunity is missed , ” according to Valkov .
The Mountain View - based fellowship work with over 100 business , such as A1 Garage Door Service , Sage Home , Eco Plumbers , Matrix , and Lee ’s Air . Valkov declined to reveal unvoiced revenue figure , saying only that Lace catch 1,000 % one-year recurring tax income ( ARR ) growing in 2024 . ( However , it only started selling to client at the end of 2023 . ) The caller operates a SaaS ( software - as - a - religious service ) business role model , charging a monthly fee per agent or customer support representative .
Even just a 1 % increase in bookings could be real for a home services or a home remodeling company . For example , a troupe with $ 300 million in revenue experiencing a 1 % step-up would see its revenue growth by $ 3 million . Some line of work that use Lace see double - digit revenue growth , Valkov said .
And today , Lace is herald a total of $ 19 million in funding since its early 2022 inception , the company tells TechCrunch entirely . The amount raised include a previously unannounced $ 5 million pre - seed rhythm direct by Canvas Ventures and , more recently , a $ 14 million seed raise led by Bek Ventures . Other backers let in Horizon VC , Launchub , and Snowflake ’s carbon monoxide - founder Marcin Zukowski , Vivino ’s Heini Zachariassen , and other founder . Valkov declined to disclose valuation , saying only that the seminal fluid funding was an “ up ” round .
Mehmet Atici , managing partner at Bek Ventures , said he was thread to empower in Lace in part because of its experienced squad .
“ There ’s a growing style of applying AI to make a tangible impact in sectors historically underserved by technical school , and this squad has a keen understanding of how to do just that — accurately describe and addressing the needs of these often overlook segments represents an enormous chance , ” he told TechCrunch .
Presently , Lace has 20 employee . It plans to treble the size of it of the companionship with its new financial support .
