Zoca, a fast-growing artificial intelligence (AI) startup, has secured $6 million in a funding round led by Accel. GTMfund, Elevation Capital, and Better Capital also joined the round. The company, founded in 2024 by Ashish Verma and Robin Chauhan, plans to use the funds to expand its operations in the United States and deploy more AI-powered agents that support hyperlocal businesses.
With this capital infusion, Zoca aims to execute its go-to-market strategy in the US more aggressively. The team plans to increase the number of businesses that benefit from its AI agents, with a focus on helping salons, spas, florists, pet care providers, and other location-based service businesses grow digitally and operationally.
Empowering Hyperlocal Businesses with AI Agents
Zoca has developed a suite of AI agents that handle end-to-end marketing and growth activities for small and medium-sized businesses. These agents identify customer demand, enhance business discoverability on Google Search, convert leads, and engage with existing customers to drive rebookings and repeat sales.
The AI agents specialize in local marketing automation, a domain often overlooked by large tech players. They optimize local search rankings, create and publish social media content, send appointment rebooking reminders, and manage paid advertising campaigns. Zoca’s agents give these small businesses access to enterprise-grade digital marketing capabilities without the overhead of large marketing teams.
By training its agents on powerful large language models (LLMs) such as Meta’s LLaMA and OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Zoca delivers highly contextual and effective communication tools. These agents understand business-specific needs and customer behavior, allowing Zoca to deliver tailored, actionable insights and automated execution.
Focus on Beauty and Wellness Industry
Zoca has strategically chosen to work with beauty and wellness businesses during its initial phase. This sector, characterized by high appointment volume and repeat customer engagement, presents a perfect testing ground for AI-powered marketing tools. Over the past year, Zoca has collaborated with more than 1,000 businesses in this sector. Through these partnerships, the company helped generate over $10 million in revenue and facilitated more than 120,000 appointments.
By automating everyday marketing tasks such as client follow-ups, Google review requests, and promotional content creation, Zoca frees up time for business owners to focus on service delivery. Many local salons and spas now rely on Zoca agents to ensure consistent online presence and customer engagement.
Ashish Verma, co-founder of Zoca, stated that the company plans to diversify into the pet care segment next. He highlighted the overlap in operational needs between pet grooming services and wellness centers, making it a natural extension of their existing capabilities.
Strategic Investment to Support US Expansion
The newly raised funds will help Zoca scale its operations across the United States. The startup intends to bolster its sales and support teams, accelerate customer onboarding, and improve agent performance through more advanced AI training. Zoca’s leadership believes that the US market offers massive untapped potential in hyperlocal digital services, especially among independent businesses operating outside major metro areas.
Robin Chauhan, Zoca’s co-founder and head of product, emphasized the importance of fast iteration and feedback. He shared that the team builds agents with user-centric workflows and adapts them quickly based on real-time feedback from small business owners. This loop ensures that the AI agents remain relevant, efficient, and impactful for everyday users.
Chauhan also confirmed that Zoca will invest in deeper integrations with platforms like Google Business, Instagram, and SMS marketing services to allow seamless interaction between the agents and the tools businesses already use.
Growing Market Demand for AI in Local Services
The need for automation and data-driven marketing has grown rapidly among small businesses. Many independent service providers struggle to keep up with digital trends, online engagement, and customer retention strategies. Zoca addresses this pain point by offering out-of-the-box AI solutions that do not require technical expertise.
Unlike traditional CRM platforms that require manual input and configuration, Zoca agents learn from real-time interactions and execute personalized marketing strategies without ongoing intervention. Businesses adopt these tools with minimal setup and see measurable results within weeks.
Investors see this as a huge opportunity. With over 30 million small businesses in the United States, most of which operate on lean margins and limited digital know-how, Zoca fills a critical gap. Accel, the lead investor in this round, expressed confidence in Zoca’s approach to combining AI automation with hyperlocal market needs.
Vision for the Next 18 Months
Zoca’s team has set an ambitious goal: to increase their revenue tenfold over the next 12 to 18 months. They plan to achieve this by expanding their client base, improving product capabilities, and deepening their focus on customer success. The company also intends to grow its engineering team to enhance the scalability and reliability of its AI infrastructure.
In addition, Zoca will continue refining its agent training process using domain-specific datasets. The company believes that industry-specific models produce far better results than generic AI applications. By narrowing the focus to particular verticals like beauty, wellness, and pet care, Zoca ensures that its agents can deliver meaningful business outcomes.
Zoca also plans to explore strategic partnerships with software vendors in the scheduling, POS (Point of Sale), and customer communication spaces. Such integrations will make it easier for businesses to adopt the platform and benefit from Zoca’s full stack of services.
Conclusion
Zoca has entered the market with a bold vision: to empower hyperlocal businesses with AI agents that handle the complete marketing lifecycle. With $6 million in fresh funding and backing from some of the most respected venture capital firms, the startup stands well-positioned to make a significant impact in the US small business market.
The founders, Ashish Verma and Robin Chauhan, combine technical depth with a deep understanding of service-sector needs. Their product reflects this balance—smart, easy to use, and results-oriented. As Zoca scales up and enters new industry verticals, it could redefine how small businesses adopt AI and thrive in a digital-first economy.
By putting real AI into the hands of small business owners, Zoca isn’t just building a product—it’s building a movement.