In the heart of Silicon Valley, a different kind of tech story is unfolding, one that doesn’t quite fit the typical mold. Thomas Lee Young, the 24-year-old CEO of Interface, a San Francisco-based startup, is on a mission to prevent industrial accidents using the power of artificial intelligence. With a disarming blend of a Caribbean accent and a Chinese surname, Young’s unique heritage, rooted in Trinidad and Tobago’s rich oil and gas landscape, forms the bedrock of his venture and offers a distinct perspective in the high-stakes world of heavy industry.
A Family Legacy Forged in Engineering
Young’s upbringing in Trinidad and Tobago, an island nation steeped in oil and gas exploration, provided him with an intimate understanding of the industry from a young age. His entire family, spanning generations, were engineers. This lineage, tracing back to his great-grandfather who immigrated from China, instilled in him a deep appreciation for the complex infrastructure that powers our world. Today, this background serves as more than just an icebreaker in boardroom meetings; it’s a testament to a journey that, while far from conventional, has equipped him with the insights needed to tackle a critical industry challenge.
The Unwavering Dream of Silicon Valley
From the tender age of 11, Young harbored an intense fascination with Caltech, the prestigious California Institute of Technology. He devoured content about Silicon Valley online, captivated by the notion that in America, individuals could bring any idea to life. His determination to gain admission was palpable. For his application essay, he ingeniously recounted how he ‘hijacked’ his family’s Roomba to create 3D spatial maps of his home – a creative gambit that ultimately paid off. Caltech extended him an offer of admission in 2020.
A Detour Shaped by Global Events
However, the path to his Californian dream was abruptly rerouted by the unforeseen arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic. The global health crisis unleashed a cascade of challenges. Young’s visa situation became a significant hurdle, with appointments canceled and processing grinding to a halt. Simultaneously, his meticulously accumulated college fund, built over seven years to $350,000, was "basically hit entirely" by the sharp market downturn in March 2020. Faced with limited options and a tight timeline, he pivoted to a more accessible, three-year mechanical engineering program at the University of Bristol in the UK. Despite this shift, his Silicon Valley aspirations remained undimmed. "I was devastated," he recalls, "but I realized I could still get something done."
Discovering a Niche: Human Factors Engineering
At Bristol, Young found himself at Jaguar Land Rover, immersed in the field of human factors engineering. This discipline, focused on the user experience (UX) and safety design of industrial systems, was entirely new to him. His role involved optimizing the safety of cars and manufacturing lines, ensuring they were intuitively designed for seamless and error-free operation. It was within the demanding environment of heavy industry that Young identified the core problem that would eventually birth Interface.
The Problem: Safety Documentation in Disarray
Young observed that the tools employed by many companies for managing safety documentation were either rudimentary – relying on pen and paper – or so fragmented and poorly designed that workers found them cumbersome and ineffective. Even more concerning, the standard operating procedures (SOPs) themselves, the essential instruction manuals and checklists blue-collar workers depend on for safety, were often riddled with errors, outdated, and incredibly difficult to maintain. He pitched Jaguar on developing a solution, but the company was not receptive to his innovative ideas.
The Entrepreneurial Leap: Entrepreneur First
Undeterred, Young began planning his exit. He discovered Entrepreneur First (EF), a European talent incubator that scouts promising individuals before they’ve even formed a co-founding team or solidified an idea. He applied to EF, despite its notoriously low 1% acceptance rate, essentially pitching himself. He informed Jaguar he would be attending a wedding in Trinidad for a week. Instead, he participated in EF’s rigorous selection process, impressing the organizers. Upon his return to the office, he resigned. "They realized, ‘Oh, so you probably weren’t at a wedding,’" he chuckles.
Forging a Partnership: The Genesis of Interface
At EF, Young met Aaryan Mehta, his future co-founder and Chief Technology Officer. Mehta, of Indian heritage but born in Belgium, had his own thwarted American dream. Accepted into both Georgia Tech and the University of Pennsylvania, he too faced visa appointment challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. He pursued mathematics and computer science at Imperial College London, where he honed his skills in AI for fault detection before contributing to machine learning pipelines at Amazon. "We had similar backgrounds," Young notes. "He’s super international. He speaks five languages, very technical, amazing guy, and we got along very well."
Their synergy was immediate and enduring. In fact, they were the only pairing in their EF cohort to remain together. Today, they share a living space in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood. While the amount of time they spend together might raise eyebrows, Young insists it’s a non-issue given their demanding schedules. "Over the last week, I’ve seen [Aaryan] at home for maybe a combined total of 30 minutes."
Interface: AI-Powered Safety Redefined
Interface’s core proposition is elegantly simple yet profoundly impactful: to leverage AI to make heavy industry significantly safer. The company’s AI-driven platform autonomously audits operating procedures. Using sophisticated large language models (LLMs), it meticulously cross-references these procedures against a vast array of information, including regulatory mandates, technical drawings, and internal corporate policies. The goal is to identify and flag critical errors that, in the worst-case scenario, could lead to fatal accidents.
The impact of Interface’s technology is striking. In a partnership with one of Canada’s largest energy companies, where Interface is now deployed across three sites (the company’s name remains undisclosed), the software identified a staggering 10,800 errors and potential improvements within their standard operating procedures in just two and a half months. Young estimates that performing this task manually would have incurred costs exceeding $35 million and taken two to three years.
One particularly concerning error unearthed by Interface involved a valve’s incorrect pressure range listed in a document that had been in circulation for a decade. "They’re just lucky that nothing happened," remarks Medha Agarwal, a partner at Defy.vc, the venture capital firm that spearheaded Interface’s $3.5 million seed funding round earlier this year, with contributions from Precursor, Rockyard Ventures, and angel investors like Charlie Songhurst.
A Lucrative Market and Ambitious Expansion
The contracts Interface is securing are substantial. After an initial exploration of outcome-based pricing – an approach the energy company “hated,” according to Young – Interface has adopted a hybrid model combining per-seat licenses with overage charges. A single contract with the aforementioned Canadian energy company is valued at over $2.5 million annually. Furthermore, Interface is expanding its client base, with new fuel and oil services customers onboarding in key regions like Houston, Guyana, and Brazil.
While the total addressable market (TAM) is still being fully defined, it is undeniably vast. In the United States alone, market research firm IBISWorld reports approximately 27,000 oil and gas services companies. This represents just the initial vertical Interface aims to conquer.
The Outsider’s Advantage: Age and Background as Assets
Intriguingly, Young’s age and background, which might initially be perceived as potential disadvantages in more established industries, have become his distinct competitive advantages. When he enters a room filled with executives two or three times his age, there’s often an initial wave of skepticism. "Who the hell is this young guy and how does he know what he’s talking about?" he anticipates. However, he then delivers his "wow moment" by demonstrating a profound understanding of their operations, the daily realities of their workers, and the tangible cost and time savings Interface can deliver. "Once you can flip them, they will absolutely love you and advocate and fight for you," he asserts.
He recounts a recent site visit with operators where, astonishingly, five workers inquired about investing in Interface. This was a particularly proud moment for him, given that field workers typically hold a negative view of software providers. Despite operating from Interface’s San Francisco office in the Financial District, Young keeps his hard hat close by, a constant reminder of his connection to the operational realities of his clients.
Agarwal points out that Young could benefit from more downtime, recalling a conversation where he confessed to not having seen daylight all day. The company currently comprises eight employees – five in the office and three remote – predominantly engineers, with an operations specialist recently joining.
Scaling Up: The Challenge of Rapid Growth
Interface’s primary challenge lies in its ability to hire talent fast enough to meet the escalating demand. This requires their lean team to tap into extensive networks across both Europe and the United States.
Living the Silicon Valley Dream, with a Twist
Reflecting on his current life in San Francisco, the very place he aspired to be, Young marvels at the accuracy of Silicon Valley stereotypes. "You see people online talking about, ‘Oh, you go to a park and the person sitting next to you has raised $50 million building some insane AI agent.’ But it is actually like that," he observes. "I think back to what life was like in Trinidad. I mention these ideas to people back home, and they just don’t believe me."
He occasionally carves out time for nature excursions with friends, like a recent trip to Tahoe. Interface also hosts events, including a hackathon the previous weekend. However, the overwhelming focus remains on work, particularly on AI, a dominant theme in San Francisco’s tech landscape. This makes the trips to oil rigs an oddly appealing contrast.
Indeed, that hard hat resting on his desk is more than just a practical tool; it’s a recruitment magnet. For engineers weary of building "low-impact B2B sales or recruiting tools," as Young puts it, the prospect of occasionally stepping outside the San Francisco bubble to engage directly with operators in the field is a significant draw. He notes that less than 1% of San Francisco startups operate within heavy industry, a scarcity that contributes to its unique appeal for both him and his burgeoning team.
This might not be the exact Silicon Valley dream he envisioned as a child in Trinidad – the one filled with long hours, immense pressure, ubiquitous AI discussions, and punctuated by the occasional oil rig adventure. Yet, for now, he seems content. "Over the last month or two months, I have not done much at all [outside the office], because there’s just been so much intensity here, with building, hiring, selling." But, he adds with conviction, "I feel pretty strong."
Interface’s journey underscores a powerful trend: the application of advanced AI and data science in traditional industries to solve critical, life-saving problems. It’s a testament to how innovative thinking, coupled with a deep understanding of real-world challenges, can disrupt established norms and forge a safer, more efficient future.