San Francisco-based startup Interface has secured $3.5 million in seed funding to expand the deployment of its artificial intelligence platform, which autonomously audits industrial operating procedures for safety errors. The technology has already identified over 10,800 errors and improvements at a major Canadian energy company across three sites, a task that company officials estimate would have cost in excess of $35 million and taken two to three years if performed manually.
The seed round was led by Defy.vc, with participation from Precursor, Rockyard Ventures, and angel investor Charlie Songhurst. Medha Agarwal, a partner at Defy.vc, noted that Interface's technology addressed critical safety vulnerabilities observed in existing industrial documentation. One identified error included a document that had been in circulation for a decade containing an incorrect pressure range for a valve.
Interface’s platform utilizes large language models to review and cross-check standard operating procedures against regulatory requirements, technical drawings, and internal corporate policies. This automated process aims to detect inconsistencies and outdated information that could pose safety risks to industrial workers, particularly in heavy industry sectors.
Thomas Lee Young, CEO of Interface, founded the company after observing deficiencies in safety documentation during his time in human factors engineering at Jaguar Land Rover. Young, alongside CTO Aaryan Mehta, developed the AI-driven solution to address issues such as siloed, poorly designed, and error-ridden operational manuals prevalent in many industrial environments.
The company reports significant financial and operational impact. A single contract with the unnamed Canadian energy company is valued at over $2.5 million annually. Interface is currently expanding its customer base within fuel and oil services, with new deployments anticipated in Houston, Guyana, and Brazil. According to market research outfit IBISWorld, the U.S. alone contains approximately 27,000 oil and gas services companies, indicating a substantial addressable market for the startup's technology.
Interface currently employs eight individuals, primarily focusing on engineering roles. The company's business model is structured as a hybrid per-seat subscription with additional overage costs. Young stated that a key challenge is scaling its team to meet rising demand across both European and U.S. networks.
