AI startup Zoca raises $6 million in a funding round led by Accel, others

Artificial intelligence startup Zoca has raised $6 million in a funding round led by Accel, with participation from GTMfund, Elevation Capital, and Better Capital, marking a significant early bet on automation in the global local services market.

The Bengaluru-based startup plans to use the funds to enhance its agent-based AI architecture, expand platform integrations, and deepen its presence in key verticals like wellness, salons, and pet care.

What does Zoca do?

Founded in 2024 by Ashish Verma and Robin Chauhan, alumni of IIT Kharagpur, Zoca has positioned itself as a full-stack growth engine for independent service professionals—those running small, often owner-operated local businesses whose capacity to generate revenue is tightly tied to their daily schedules.

At its core, Zoca runs a suite of AI-powered agents that automate the entire marketing lifecycle for location-based service providers—right from discovering local demand and improving visibility on platforms like Google, to lead follow-up, repeat bookings, social media content, and paid ads. Each agent is trained on a mix of large language models (LLMs) including Llama and ChatGPT, tailored to function as a plug-and-play solution for businesses with little time or technical bandwidth.

"What makes this space unique is the business model. These service professionals aren't focused on selling more units—they're maximizing their available time. So the ROI on every lead, every appointment, and every repeat visit directly impacts their bottom line," said Ashish Verma, Co-founder and CEO of Zoca.

"Every empty chair is lost revenue. We built Zoca to help them stay fully booked — without lifting a finger."

Market presence

In under a year of operations, Zoca claims to have helped over 1,000 local businesses drive more than 120,000 appointments, generating over $10 million in revenue. That includes a heavy concentration in the beauty and wellness vertical, though the startup is now expanding into pet care and other segments.

"For many of these businesses, the challenge isn't just visibility," said Verma. "It's converting leads, filling schedules, and retaining clients—areas where traditional tools fall short. That's why we built a system that addresses the entire customer journey."

Zoca operates primarily in the U.S. market for now, targeting a $750 billion global opportunity in hyperlocal services. According to Verma, the startup plans to scale its U.S. team, currently anchored in Bengaluru with 54 employees, and aims for a tenfold revenue increase over the next 12 to 18 months.

"Zoca is driving business outcomes for the underserved $750 billion global local services market,” said Manasi Shah, vice president at Accel. “The team have the highest customer obsession with a deep understanding of AI in automating a significant number of use cases applicable to the local services market.”