Former Meta AI engineer Boris Valkov has secured $14 million in seed funding for Lace AI, the artificial intelligence-powered software startup he co-founded, focused on revenue optimization for home service companies. The financing round, led by Bek Ventures, brings the company’s total raised capital to $19 million since its inception in early 2022, including an earlier unannounced $5 million pre-seed led by Canvas Ventures.
Valkov played a key engineering role in building PyTorch—one of the world’s leading machine learning frameworks—during his tenure at Meta. As his understanding of artificial intelligence deepened, Valkov discovered that AI would soon drive significant innovation at the software application level. This realization spurred him to leave Meta in late 2021 and launch Lace AI alongside co-founder Stan Stoyanov, blending his expertise in AI engineering with a lifelong interest in customer service.
Valkov developed a passion for superior customer service while assisting in his family’s grocery shop, specifically recognizing the power of effective phone communication in revenue generation. Seeking to apply AI to this insight, he and Stoyanov consulted with over a hundred companies across diverse sectors. They found a substantial opportunity among home services providers, where transactions frequently begin via calls to customer service agents.
Lace’s software aims to boost sales performance by scrutinizing every customer interaction phone call for potential revenue opportunities. Unlike competing solutions, Lace AI tracks 100% of inbound calls, leveraging advanced algorithms to identify missed sales possibilities in real-time, helping call centers optimize conversions. According to Valkov, even modest improvements from Lace’s product can translate into substantial financial returns. Companies with yearly revenues around $300 million could see profits rise by $3 million annually from just a 1% improvement in conversion rates. Lace already works with more than 100 companies, including notable firms such as A1 Garage Door Service, Sage Home, Eco Plumbers, Matrix, and Lee’s Air.
Though Valkov did not disclose specific revenue numbers, Lace reported impressive growth, claiming a 1,000% increase in annual recurring revenue during 2024, its initial full year of commercial sales. The startup monetizes its services via a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) subscription priced monthly for each customer service representative or agent.
Bek Ventures managing partner Mehmet Atici explained that their decision to invest was partly motivated by the strength of the Lace AI team. He emphasized the growing trend in applying artificial intelligence to long-overlooked industry segments, viewing Lace AI as uniquely positioned given the founders’ strong technical backgrounds and apt market insight.
With 20 employees currently on staff, Lace AI intends to triple its employee headcount to approximately 60 following the newly secured investment.
