Zoca, an artificial intelligence (AI) startup, has raised $6 million in a funding round led by Accel with participation from GTMfund, Elevation Capital and Better Capital.
The funds raised will be used to implement its go-to-market strategy in the US and deploy more AI agents.
Founded in 2024 by Ashish Verma and Robin Chauhan, Zoca helps hyperlocal businesses like salons, spas, florists, petcare, i.e. anyone servicing location-based audiences, with their marketing needs through a string of AI agents. It is available in the US as of now.
Its AI agents manage the entire growth funnel, automatically identifying what services are in demand in a specific neighborhood, optimizing for discovery, converting leads into bookings, and re-engaging clients at just the right time.
That includes optimizing across 50+ local ranking factors, building mobile-first websites, responding to leads 24/7 through conversational AI, and sending personalized retention SMS and email campaigns timed to each customer’s history. Zoca has recently launched AI agents for paid ads and social media management taking charge over the entire marketing value chain for a small local business.
Zoca claims to have helped over 1,000 local beauty & wellness businesses generate $10million+ in revenue, and book more than 120,000 appointments.
Zoca plans to expand its agent architecture, deepen its platform integrations, and bring its system to more verticals where professionals face the same time-based growth challenge.
“We saw a fundamental disconnect. These entrepreneurs are selling time, not products. Every empty chair is revenue they’ll never recover. The real challenge isn’t just visibility anymore—it’s everything that comes after it. Being found is one part, but converting leads, filling schedules, and retaining clients is where businesses either grow or stall,” said Ashish Verma, Zoca’s co-founder and CEO.
“What makes this space unique is the business model itself. 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. That’s why we built a system that addresses the entire customer journey, not just one piece of it,” he added.
“In the next decade, the top local businesses around us won’t be big chains. Instead, they’ll be local professionals — quietly supercharged by AI that helps them attract more clients, keep them coming back, and grow faster than ever. At Zoca, we are making it possible for independent businesses to thrive without all the tech headaches and focus on delivering exceptional experiences to their customers,” added Ashish Verma.
“Zoca is driving business outcomes for the underserved $750B local services market. Ashish and 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. Growth AI agents are just the beginning, Zoca will create an agent-led OS for every hyperlocal business to achieve full potential,” said Manasi Shah, Partner at Accel.
Paul Irving, Partner at GTMfund, said, “These businesses are the cornerstones of their communities, but most are being left behind in a digital and AI-first world. Zoca allows them to focus on what matters most: delivering an exceptional service to their customers. The growth, the customer retention and engagement – all on auto-pilot with Zoca’s AI platform. It’s a total game changer for these local businesses, and we couldn’t be more excited to support the Zoca team on their mission.”
Poorvi Vijay, Principal, Elevation Capital, said, “Zoca arms every neighbourhood business with a 24/7 AI growth engine. Ashish and Robin’s passion and unique insights to serve this underserved market and help them transform with AI is truly outstanding. We are thrilled to back them as they build the operating system for hyperlocal services worldwide.”
