Axis

Axis has the right domain targeting — commodities desks are a high-value, underserved niche where incumbents (Bloomberg, Kpler, Vortexa) are data-rich but not AI-native in the custom model sense. The founders have real but shallow trading pedigree: Eric's TransMarket and RBC stints plus Ian's Virtu internship are credible signals, but both are essentially fresh grads with sub-1-year tenures at each role and no exits. The product shows meaningful vertical specificity (LNG, LPG, crude, refined products) suggesting real domain thinking, but there's no evidence of paying customers, revenue, or even named pilot clients yet. The incumbents have massive proprietary data advantages that will be hard to overcome without either superior data access or extremely tight workflow integration. If they can land even one named institutional pilot with measurable outcomes, this becomes an A.