Two BITS Pilani alumni who went door to door across Northern California to understand the challenges faced by small businesses have raised $52 million for their artificial intelligence startup, Broccoli AI.
(Also read: BITS Pilani alum’s wake-up call for techies in Bengaluru: ‘Fix your health and family’)
According to a report by Fortune, AJ Jain, 27, and Aditya Ketkar secured $22 million in Series A funding and another $30 million in Series B funding, just nine months apart. Both rounds were led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from Y Combinator and Operator Partners.
The startup is reportedly valued at $300 million, although the company declined to comment on its valuation.
From BITS Pilani to Silicon Valley
Jain and Ketkar met at BITS Pilani in 2016 and began building businesses together in 2017. Their earlier ventures included a campus delivery app, an interview preparation boot camp and an electric vehicle software startup.
After struggling to scale their previous business, the duo arrived in San Francisco in January 2024.
{{/usCountry}}After struggling to scale their previous business, the duo arrived in San Francisco in January 2024.
{{/usCountry}}Instead of immediately developing another product, they visited around 140 contractors' offices across Northern California to understand their everyday problems.
“People were not treating us like salesmen,” Jain told Fortune. “Curious kids was, like, our persona,”
Their breakthrough came when they met Marcelle Flowers, the owner of Armstrong Plumbing in Sacramento.
Five-minute meeting changes everything
Flowers initially mistook the two entrepreneurs for students selling chocolates to raise money.
“I literally said, you have five minutes,” she recalled.
At the time, Flowers was sceptical about AI and feared it would replace workers. However, the founders demonstrated an automated appointment reminder system that addressed a problem her business was facing.
Impressed, she began working with them to develop AI tools for plumbing businesses.
“She was the operator who helped us create this,” Jain said. “She’s the soul of the company.”
Flowers eventually became Broccoli AI's chief operating officer.
Startup now serves over 1,500 businesses
Broccoli AI develops AI agents that answer customer calls, schedule appointments, follow up on estimates and manage service memberships for plumbing, electrical and other home-service companies.
The company says more than 1,500 businesses use its technology, including Ace Hardware Home Services and Mr. Electric.
According to Jain, revenue has tripled since the Series A round, while the workforce has expanded to more than 150 employees.
Despite concerns about automation replacing jobs, Jain believes AI can support existing workers.
“It’s not taking away jobs,” he said. “It’s making jobs.”