Apr 30, 2026
Two entrepreneurs are betting on a bright blue-collar future. Tyson Chen and Apurva Shrivastava, engineers, met at an MIT poker night. Their meeting sparked the beginning of what would become a $1 billion business — one that sells AI call support to HVAC companies.
The company is called Avoca, and it's going all-in on the booming blue-collar industry. As Fortune reports, Chen and Shrivastava originally built an AI product to answer calls for restaurants (1), where a missed call could mean losing a $40 reservation.
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Then they had a chance meeting with HVAC company Rescue Air and realized they were onto something even bigger.
"When a restaurant misses a phone call, that's a $30, $40 order," Chen told Fortune. "When a home service business misses a phone call, that could be a $30,000, $40,000 HVAC install they're missing."
The math was compelling. The duo spent three months building the product for Rescue Air. It helped them earn more clients, and eventually snowballed into Avoca.
The founders have raised $125 million on a vision: AI gets more work for blue-collar businesses. Notably, the pitch relies heavily on a future where humans are served by AI.
The future of trades is still human, probably
The company's success hinges on a future in which plumbers and technicians remain human, at least for the next five years, Shrivastava said.
"With all that's happening in AI, the next million-dollar-job is the job of plumber, the job of the technician," Shrivastava said. "What Avoca has realized is these people are the main characters.”
This assumption is well-founded. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says demand for heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers is likely to expand at 8% a year, much faster than the average across all jobs (2). That said, specific numbers vary by job.
The market for plumbers is expected to grow in line with the 4% average (3).
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Chen and Shrivastava anticipate a huge market. "Everyone's trying to build for the Fortune 500, but there's this giant, trillion-dollar economy no one is touching," Chen said.
A 2023 Grand View Research report projects the HVAC market size will grow to $445.73 billion by 2033 (4).
Avoca is capitalizing upon a trend: the rapid shift from white-collar to blue-collar work.
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Blue-collar work is hot, white-collar work is not
Blue is the new white, and the swap is changing how people work.
AI is coming for desk jobs. A 2025 survey by Resume Builder reveals 4 in 10 Gen Z college graduates are working in or pursuing a blue-collar or skilled trade job, including 37% of those with a bachelor's degree (5).
They’re doing it to tackle student debt and reduce the risk of being replaced by AI (6).
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In a workforce survey, the American Staffing Association found (7) that 1 in 3 U.S. adults would recommend that high school grads go straight into trade school.
Working in a call center is another risky choice. Avoca's AI customer service representatives are designed to answer instantly and be on-call 24/7. No calling off, no sleep.
On the company website, a testimonial from Aaron Ruddick, founder of Reliable Comfort, reads:
"AI gave me the ability to extend my service hours without having to extend my staff (8)."
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects customer service rep jobs will decline (9). AI chatbots and virtual assistants are taking over that role. One report projects the "AI for customer service" market to grow nearly 30% year over year through 2030 (10), from $12 billion to $47 billion.
As startups like Avoca move into industries that aren't known for being tech savvy — HVAC, plumbing, roofing, and electrical — job seekers will have a clearer idea of who is replaceable.
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
Fortune (1); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2),(3),(9); Grand View Research (4); Resume Builder (5),(6); American Staffing Association (7); Avoca (8); MarketsandMarkets (10)
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Cole Tretheway has been covering money for four years. He started as an intern at The Motley Fool Money, covering best-of credit cards, savings accounts, and financial products. He's since expanded into wholistic personal finances, including the psychology of money.
