I’m delighted to announce my investment in Vortexa today. Vortexa absorbs billions of data points from hundreds of sources to show past, present and future flows of oil and refined products worldwide and uses artificial intelligence to analyse and interpret that data on a massive scale. Vortexa maps nearly all seaborne crude oil flows and the majority of refined products cargos globally, giving their customers the most comprehensive global view possible of the physical energy markets.

When I initially became interested in investing in Vortexa, there were two main points I considered. First, the market which is enormous and hasn’t yet been disrupted by advanced deep tech. Second, there is an ability there to improve data transparency and to allow all parties in the market to have access to the same accurate data set of oil and refined products. This is a game changer for anyone active in this market. For decades, certain groups trading in oil have had access to data other people haven’t, consequently being able to gain a massive competitive edge and earn vast amounts of money. I see Vortexa as a way to democratise this market. The team is made up of of data scientists and industry experts with exceptional technical capabilities. Fabio, Vortexa’s CEO, has been in the tech and oil industry for most of his career, is highly respected and is well placed to have a vision for this product. They’re creating a product other people haven’t been able to create; they understand how the industry works and can create those crucial strategic relationships and partnerships.

This is one of the few markets that hasn’t yet gone fully transparent and digital, so I think the success of a platform such as Vortexa’s is a case of when and not if. Its potential to eliminate informational asymmetries between traders, brokers and others has led me to conclude that if Vortexa expands rapidly enough, it could rapidly emerge as the dominant category leader and as such I took the decision to invest.

More information from Business Insider here.