Cactus, a company developing an AI copilot for home service providers, has raised $7 million in seed funding. The investment was led by Wellington Management and Y Combinator, with additional participation from Pelion Venture Partners, Rebel Fund, and other strategic backers. The company plans to utilize the funding to enhance its platform capabilities and accelerate the adoption of its go-to-market strategy across the United States.
The company focuses on bringing conversational AI to home services, a segment that has largely continued to rely on manual processes, phone calls, and basic scheduling systems. Home service categories such as HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and contracting often experience high call volumes and after-hours inquiries that are difficult to manage without additional staff. Cactus provides an always-available AI platform that handles answering, qualifying, booking, and follow-up communication.
The U.S. home services market is valued at approximately $657 billion and continues to experience steady consumer demand. However, many providers face operational strain and lost revenue opportunities as they attempt to manage job requests and scheduling in real time. Cactus is positioned to address this challenge by ensuring customer interactions are handled consistently and quickly, supporting both responsiveness and job capture rates.
The platform also includes follow-up features across phone, email, and text to support recurring service reminders and customer retention efforts. This approach aims to help businesses build more consistent workflows that resemble subscription-like relationships with customers.
Cactus was founded by repeat Y Combinator entrepreneurs Ajith Govind and Avinash Joshi. Early users have reported improvements in booking rates and overall customer experience without needing to increase staff. The company expects continued growth as service providers seek scalable ways to manage communication and customer demand.
KEY QUOTES:
“It’s never fun to call a plumber, but hearing how natural and friendly the AI sounds has been amazing. Our customers often don’t realize they’re not speaking with a real person.”
Erin Smith, Co-Owner, Blue Best Plumbing, Heating & Air Generators
“Even with modern CRMs, most home service businesses lose jobs at the first touchpoint. Cactus ensures every inquiry gets handled instantly and professionally, helping small teams perform like enterprise operations.”
Ajith Govind, Co-Founder and CEO, Cactus
“AI isn’t valuable unless it solves a real problem. Every line of code is built to remove friction so business owners can focus on growth, not admin.”
Avinash Joshi, Co-Founder and CTO, Cactus
“We see tremendous opportunity to introduce AI infrastructure to a multibillion-dollar market that is largely underserved by modern technology. Cactus is at the forefront of this transformation, turning routine business operations into fully automated, revenue-generating systems.”
Sasha McKenzie, Deal Lead, Wellington Access Ventures
