EX-META ENGINEER’S $14M POWER MOVE: How AI is Revolutionizing Home Service Customer Support
The PyTorch Builder Who Saw What Others Missed
Boris Valkov didn’t just work at Meta – he helped BUILD the machine learning backbone powering today’s AI revolution. While others were chasing flashy AI applications, this engineering powerhouse spotted a $300 BILLION opportunity hiding in plain sight: home service call centers.
“AI was about to unlock game-changing capabilities in the application layer – and I knew exactly where to deploy it first.”
Boris Valkov, Lace AI Founder
From Grocery Store to Tech Disruptor
Valkov’s secret weapon? Old-school customer service chops honed in his family’s grocery store. While Silicon Valley was obsessed with chatbots, he remembered a fundamental truth:
- 87% of home service sales start with a phone call
- 42% of potential revenue slips through the cracks in unoptimized call centers
- Just 1% conversion improvement means $3M for a $300M company
The Lace AI Advantage: No Lead Left Behind
While competitors sample calls, Lace AI goes ALL IN:
- 100% call monitoring (not just samples)
- Real-time opportunity detection
- Proven double-digit revenue growth for clients
The Proof Is in the Pipeline
Lace’s client roster reads like a who’s who of home services:
- A1 Garage Door Service
- Sage Home
- Eco Plumbers
- Matrix
- Lee’s Air
With 1,000% ARR growth in 2024 (yes, you read that right), Valkov’s team is just getting started.
$19M and Counting: Why Investors Are Betting Big
Today’s $14M seed round (led by Bek Ventures) brings total funding to $19M. But here’s what really matters:
“This team understands how to apply AI where it actually moves the needle – in industries tech has ignored for too long.”
Mehmet Atici, Managing Partner at Bek Ventures
What’s Next? Triple the Team, 10X the Impact
With plans to grow from 20 to 60 employees, Lace AI is building the future of customer service – one where:
- Every call becomes a revenue opportunity
- AI works alongside humans (not replacing them)
- Home service businesses finally get the tech advantage they deserve
The Bottom Line: While others talk about AI potential, Valkov’s team is delivering measurable results TODAY in one of America’s most essential industries.
