Cactus AI is transforming how small home service businesses operate across the U.S. Many still juggle manual phone calls, spreadsheets, and outdated scheduling tools, a setup that leads to missed opportunities, poor customer experiences, and lost revenue, especially during after-hours or peak seasons.
By automating calls, bookings, and follow-ups, Cactus AI ensures no customer inquiry slips through the cracks, helping service companies work smarter, respond faster, and grow without adding extra staff.
By turning everyday communications into streamlined, revenue-generating workflows, Cactus is redefining how local service businesses operate.
The startup has just secured $7 million in seed funding led by Wellington Management and Y Combinator, with backing from Pelion Venture Partners, Rebel Fund, and other strategic investors. The new funding will help Cactus expand its engineering team, refine its platform, and speed up its U.S. go-to-market rollout.
Founded by Ajith Govind and Avinash Joshi, both two-time Y Combinator alumni, Cactus grew out of their years of experience working with small business owners.
They noticed that while these entrepreneurs were experts in their trades, they were often buried under endless administrative tasks that kept them from growing. That insight led to Cactus, an AI copilot designed to give business owners back their time, allowing them to scale efficiently without adding headcount.
The platform’s conversational AI technology reaches near-human accuracy in handling calls and messages. It can answer inquiries, qualify leads, schedule appointments, and even send automated follow-ups through calls, texts, and emails.
Beyond basic call automation, Cactus also supports “aftercare automation”, a unique feature that sends reminders and maintenance offers to past clients, creating predictable recurring revenue streams.
Unlike many call bots on the market, such as Avoca, Broccoli, and Zyratalk, Cactus goes further by combining customer communication, scheduling, and retention workflows into a single system.
This all-in-one approach helps businesses boost efficiency, reduce software clutter, and enhance their responsiveness. Early users report doubling their booking rates, jumping from 45% to 90%, thanks to faster response times and improved customer satisfaction.
The founders emphasize that Cactus is not just another AI startup but a purpose-built infrastructure platform for real-world business needs. They’ve made deliberate technical decisions to ensure reliability and cost efficiency, allowing small business owners to benefit from AI without the complexity or expense of enterprise software.
With this fresh capital, Cactus plans to broaden its reach beyond its current focus on plumbing and HVAC to include other service sectors like cleaning, electrical work, and landscaping. The team also aims to deepen integrations with existing industry tools and create a more comprehensive ecosystem for service automation.
Wellington Access Ventures’ deal lead, Sasha McKenzie, described Cactus as a company poised to transform a multi-billion-dollar market still underserved by modern technology. She highlighted its potential to turn everyday business operations into “fully automated, revenue-generating systems.”
As Cactus continues to grow, its mission remains clear, to help every service business run smarter, faster, and leaner with AI at its core.
