There is still a massive information gap in today’s energy markets, where access to trusted energy data is limited and not available in real-time on a global scale – a problem for energy traders.
London-based Vortexa is an AI-based energy intelligence provider that shows real-time, global trade flows for crude and refined products at an unprecedented scale – creating a more complete view of global oil supply, and helping traders who depend on this information to make better decisions.
The startup has just raised €4.4 million in a Series A round led by Notion Capital with participation from Mosaic Ventures, taking the total amount raised by the business to €8.8 million. Vortexa plans to use the funding to continue its global expansion and scale its proprietary AI technology that provides real-time energy trading intelligence.
Vortexa is creating the most complete view of oil supply today, empowering traders to make better decisions and driving greater market efficiency.
“In an increasingly fast-moving energy market characterised by intense competition, profit margins are defined by the information edge.” said Fabio Kuhn, Founder and CEO of Vortexa. “We combine proprietary technology and market expertise to provide our clients with actionable insights before anyone else.”
Vortexa builds its machine learning models using extensive domain expertise and through access to datasets provided by respected industry partners. The feedback loop between Vortexa’s powerful models and market participants continuously develops the company’s competitive advantage. Vortexa’s offering is informed by multiple sources including satellite, transactional and reference data – which are interpreted by artificial intelligence algorithms and analysts at a rapid pace.
“The Vortexa team has developed cutting-edge tools for the energy industry by making full use of recent technological advancements – this includes increased availability of satellite data, cloud computing, and AI,” said Patrick Norris of Notion Capital, who has joined the Vortexa board. “They have already transformed the way the sector collects and analyses information.”
“The traditional methods of information gathering and sharing are no longer fit for purpose in today’s complex marketplace,” added Etienne Amic, former Head of European Energy at JP Morgan and Mercuria, who acts as Chairman. “Only the combination of human expertise and artificial intelligence will ensure players stay ahead – those using the platform are seeing a significant advantage in energy markets”
Vortexa is a fast-growing team consisting of 30 data scientists, engineers and energy analysts in the industry. They are headquartered in London, have recently opened an office in Singapore, and will open another office in Houston in 2019.