Interface, a San Francisco-based startup focused on industrial safety, has secured a $3.5 million seed round to modernize how critical energy operations are run. The company is building an AI-powered operations layer designed for sectors such as oil and gas and chemicals, where outdated tools and complex procedures often translate into real safety risks. By targeting the infrastructure that keeps heavy industry running, Interface aims to protect frontline workers while improving the efficiency of large-scale operations.
Funding Round Details
The $3.5 million seed round is led by defy.vc, with participation from Precursor Ventures, Rock Yard Ventures, Entrepreneurs First, Transpose Platform, and several angel investors. Notable backers include Meta board member Charlie Songhurst, reflecting growing institutional confidence in AI solutions for heavy industry. The funding will allow Interface to accelerate product development, deepen its integrations with existing systems, and scale commercial efforts across the Americas.
Building an AI Operations Layer for Energy
Interface’s core product is an AI-driven platform that acts as an operational safety layer for energy companies and other critical industries. It connects to existing software and data sources, cross-checks standards and procedures, and provides operators with a safety copilot that reduces document review time and human error. The platform is built to keep procedures, manuals, P&IDs, and other essential documentation accurate, compliant, and instantly searchable, reducing the administrative load on engineers and field teams.
Traction and Expansion Plans
The company is already working with large energy operators across the United States and Canada, including Fortune 500 companies that manage complex, high risk facilities. Early deployments have reportedly delivered hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings per site by reducing downtime, streamlining compliance workflows, and enabling faster access to accurate operational information. With fresh capital in place, Interface has begun exploring opportunities with producers in Guyana and Brazil as it expands its footprint across the wider Americas energy market.
Founders’ Background and Vision
Interface was co founded by CEO Thomas Lee Young and CTO Aaryan Mehta, who met through the company builder Entrepreneurs First. Young grew up in Trinidad in a family of engineers, far from the traditional tech hubs, and has spoken about wanting to build products that deliver impact beyond financial returns. Together, the founders are focused on bringing advanced AI technology to sectors that have been historically underserved by modern software, particularly in environments where unsafe operations and legacy systems remain the norm.
Market Opportunity and Strategic Importance
Energy is one of the most critical industries in the global economy, yet many of its operating environments still rely on fragmented tools, manual processes, and static documentation. Interface is positioning itself at the intersection of safety, compliance, and operational intelligence, aiming to give field teams and control room staff the same level of software quality and usability that knowledge workers enjoy. By turning complex technical documentation into a living, AI assisted system of record, the company believes it can reduce risk, improve decision making, and support more resilient industrial infrastructure.
With its new seed funding, Interface is stepping into a larger role as an AI infrastructure provider for some of the world’s most demanding industrial operations. The company’s early traction with major energy operators and its expansion plans across North and South America suggest a sizable commercial opportunity alongside its safety mission. As heavy industry looks for practical ways to harness AI, Interface is betting that an intelligent operations layer can become a critical part of how high risk facilities are run in the coming decade.