Modern applications rarely exist in isolation. Enterprises often connect their workloads with other services or make them available to outside developers using application programming interfaces, a task that San Francisco-based Moesif Inc. is working to simplify.

The startup today announced that it has raised $3.5 million in funding to scale up its efforts. Moesif provides a monitoring platform built to help developers make sure their APIs run smoothly, as well as debug any errors that may arise.

The offering makes extensive use of artificial intelligence. Moesif’s error monitoring algorithms can learn what constitutes normal API behavior, use that data as a reference to catch issues and continuously update the reference model as usage patterns change over time. The startup is pitching its technology as a better alternative to the traditional approach of manually setting up error alerting rules.

If an API experiences performance hiccups or some other issue, developers can turn to Moesif’s built-in Smart Diff debugging tool. It analyzes API data and generates a list of potential error causes to speed up troubleshooting.

Moesif exposes these features through a graphical interface that shares similarities with Google Analytics, most notably a focus on data visualization. The platform displays API information in a series of graphs customized for different purposes. Query performance, for example, is organized on a timeline that visualizes speed fluctuations in the form of peaks and valleys.

Moesif also provides more business-oriented information. A project manager, for instance, could use the platform to quickly identify the geographic regions where a newly launched API is seeing the strongest adoption. Moesif likewise makes it possible to evaluate how existing customers interact with a service on a day-to-day basis.

The startup claims that its platform is helping thousands of developers analyze billions of API requests. Speaking to TechCrunch, Moesif Chief Executive Derric Gilling said the new funding will go toward hiring additional developers and salespeople to help boost adoption.

The round was led by early-stage fund Merus Capital. Other participants included Heavybit, Fresco Capital and Zach Coelius, an early investor in General Motors Co.’s GM Cruise LLC self-driving car unit. The group, which became part of GM through a $1 billion acquisition in 2016, is now valued at more than $14 billion.

Moesif is competing in a crowded market. Established API management providers such as Google LLC’s Apigee unit and MuleSoft, which Salesforce.com Inc. acquired for $6.5 billion last year, also provide monitoring features as part of their platforms.

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