Aahel Iyer
| Aahel Iyer | |
| Occupation | Product designer, entrepreneur |
|---|---|
| Known for | Co-founder of Midship |
| Education | BFA in New Media Design, Rochester Institute of Technology |
| Alma mater | Rochester Institute of Technology |
Aahel Iyer is an Indian-American product designer and entrepreneur based in San Francisco, California. He is a co-founder of Midship, an AI-native platform that automates Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) testing and internal audit workflows. Midship was part of the Y Combinator Summer 2024 batch.[1]
Early life and education
Iyer was born and raised in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), India, before moving to the United States to pursue higher education. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in New Media Design from the Rochester Institute of Technology, with a minor in Business Administration.
Iyer is also a visual artist. In 2019, he curated a solo exhibition at the Birla Academy of Art and Culture in Kolkata, featuring paintings, installations, and sculptures in a series titled Playschool.
Career
Prior to founding Midship, Iyer worked as a product designer in the technology industry. His previous roles included leading design for financial products at Faire, working on payments and identity at Lyft, and designing in-car experiences for Lyft's media team. He also served as a founding designer at Dashworks, an AI knowledge assistant for businesses.
Midship
Iyer co-founded Midship alongside Kieran Taylor. The company develops AI agents that autonomously perform SOX compliance testing — a process required of publicly traded companies under the Sarbanes–Oxley Act. Midship's platform analyzes a company's risk and control matrix (RCM), identifies controls suitable for automation, performs tests following the company's audit procedures, and generates fully documented work papers with conclusions linked to source documents. The company states that its technology can automate over 85% of SOX controls, aiming to reduce reliance on costly external consultants and allow internal auditors to focus on higher-judgment tasks.[2]
In January 2026, Midship raised $4.15 million in a seed funding round led by Costanoa Ventures, with participation from Y Combinator and Seguin Ventures. The company has been adopted by public companies for SOX testing, with Reddit among its publicly known users.
References
- ↑ "Midship – AI for SOX testing". 'Y Combinator}'. Retrieved 2026-03-18.
- ↑ "Midship – AI for SOX Testing". 'Midship}'. Retrieved 2026-03-18.