Shelby Yee

Shelby Yee is a geological engineer and serial tech founder advancing underground geosciences and field data capture for heavy industry. After co-founding RockMass Technologies while completing her B.A.Sc. at Queen’s University in 2016, Shelby grew the thesis project into a venture-backed firm serving major global mining companies across more than 30 underground sites in North America, South America, Europe, and Australia. Building on that momentum, she co-founded GroundedAI in 2025 to transform underground construction, tunnelling, and infrastructure. Under her leadership, the company quickly secured $3.6M in funding—including a 2026 round led by StandUp Ventures—and re-engaged core technical talent and investors from her previous venture to tackle Canada’s generational infrastructure push.

At GroundedAI, Shelby directs a cross-functional team of engineers and geoscientists building specialized digital tools designed to replace decades-old paper logging and memory-dependent field practices. The platform features Lithos, an iPad-based LiDAR data capture system for complex underground environments, and Strata, a web platform that enables real-time, AI-driven gap analysis between field conditions and geological models. By instantly exposing discrepancies between predicted ground conditions and reality, GroundedAI helps project teams detect emerging risks, preventing the severe cost overruns and delays historically associated with major tunnelling and transit builds. In under 18 months, Shelby has expanded the company’s reach into the underground construction market, partnering with prominent industry leaders such as Hatch, Delve Underground, and Elea iC.

Beyond software development, Shelby is dedicated to leading from the field—spending extensive time underground on active mine sites and tunnel projects to inform product design and operational strategies. Her contributions to the industry have earned her widespread recognition, including places on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, the Young Mining Professionals Eira Thomas Award, and the CIM Canadian Young Mining Leaders Award. An active advocate for diversity in heavy industry, she regularly mentors early-stage founders and women in STEM through the Creative Destruction Lab and Queen’s Innovation Centre. She also serves on the Board of Directors and volunteer advisory board for the Nature Conservancy of Canada, bringing an environmental stewardship lens to global resource and infrastructure development.