sosv is a venture capital and investment management firm that provides seed , venture and growth stage funding to startup companies in the technology sector .

the company 's focus is on accelerating startups via their market specific seed accelerator programs located in europe , asia and the usa .

the firm is made up of 7 investment partners , 45 + full-time support staff and hundreds of mentors .

sosv is headquartered in princeton , new jersey , with back office operations based in cork , ireland , and flagship offices in san francisco , shenzhen , shanghai and new york .

sosv

copyright all rights reserved © 2018 sosv llc - hax™ is a trademark of sosv . all other trademarks are of their respective owners .
about sosv sosv , the accelerator vc , has $ 300 million in assets under management . founded in 1995 , sosv’s investments focus on early - stage startups selected from 4 , 000 companies applying every year through http : / / sosv . com . a large network of follow - on vcs invest another $ 200m into sosv startups annually .
sosv , the accelerator - based venture capital firm , closed $ 150 million in its first fund open to external investors , sosv iii on december 16th .
for more information : audrey chen , sosv investor relations audrey . chen @ urltoken
the fund sosv iii was the fund to which investors were provided exposure . sosv iii was a targeted $ 200 million fund closing for subscription in december 2016 .
sosv raises $ 150 million fund for accelerators in china , u . s .
the accelerator note tracks sosv’s successful $ 200m usd fund iii where the sosv general partners have personally provided $ 100m of the fund which other private investors are matching .
investor relations sosv audrey chen , 609 - 933 - 2652 audrey . chen @ urltoken
sosv raises $ 150 million fund for accelerators in china , u . s . - wsj
asia represents 20 % of sosv’s global investments , the bulk of which comes from china .
those interested in applying to one of sosv’s accelerators should heed the venture capital firm’s advice .
it should — it’s the same approach that sosv brings to our accelerator programmes and startup investments .
) - - sosv , the accelerator - based venture capital firm , closed $ 150 million in its first fund open to external investors , sosv iii on december 16th . sosv runs the world’s # 1 accelerators in hardware , life sciences , disruptive food , and china cross - border startups .
sosv , the accelerator vc , has $ 300 million in assets under management . founded in 1995 , sosv’s investments focus on early - stage startups selected from 4 , 000 companies applying every year through urltoken . a large network of follow - on vcs invest another $ 200m into sosv startups annually .
looking for investment ? sosv invests almost exclusively through our accelerator programs . check out our programs & apply !
never miss a story from sosv : inspiration from acceleration , when you sign up for medium . learn more
you should have 2 to 4 founders on your . . . - sosv - the accelerator vc | facebook
accelerator note 1 the fund manager sosv is a us - based venture capital fund which provides funding to early - stage start - up companies . sosv primarily deploys funding via accelerators programs which it operates in europe , asia and the unites states . to date , sosv has deployed over $ 250 million across 500 companies .
to see the full interview between steve brotman of alpha ventures and sean o’sullivan of sosv , click here .
stay up to date on investment opportunities , learn about sosv managed funds & portfolio companies , attend startup showcases .
generally , sosv the lead or sole seed investor in the very early stage startups it attracts to its programs .
jan 3 , 2017 — ( princeton , nj ) — sosv , the accelerator - based venture capital firm , closed $ 150 million in its first fund open to external investors , sosv iii on december 16th . sosv runs the world’s # 1 accelerators in hardware , life sciences , disruptive food , and china cross - border startups .
now sosv , which calls itself the “accelerator vc , ” is beginning to have the same brand recognition its founder enjoys .
as part of our speaker series , sean o ' sullivan , founder of sosv , will be speaking to the inba on wednesday may 24th at sosv revolution sf in downtown san francisco . the event will start at 6pm and run approximately 2 hours .
bill liao ( managing partner ) , sosv and sean o’sullivan ( founder and managing partner ) . sosv has stepped back from plans to establish a european version of food - x , its international business accelerator programme for start - ups , in cork .
up until 2015 , sosv’s accelerator model was powered completely on internal capital , from investments by our founding partner ( me ) and our team of gps . as of december 16th , 2016 , we’ve now closed on sosv’s third fund , a $ 150m fund dedicated to our accelerators and the companies that come out of them . this brings sosv to $ 300m in assets under management . it’s a big step for us , and a big recognition of how far the “deep tech , vertical” accelerator movement that sosv pioneered has come .
harmonix was acquired by viacom in 2006 . when the founders repurchased the company in 2011 , sosv reinvested and currently holds a position .
sosv & indiebio provided a great entrepreneurial environment surrounded by fellow scientists , excellent lab facilities , and contacts to the bay area life sciences community . the breadth of sosv’s companies provides a unique perspective , and has exposed us to different global ecosystems through fellow portfolio companies .
once this global protein distribution business reached €50m in revenue , a sovereign wealth fund acquired sosv’s position in 2014 . gps continues to operate .
bill is general partner at sosv , supporting , mentoring and investing in companies and startups at all stages of growth . bill founded sosv’s life sciences practice and currently runs rebelbio in europe , focusing on entrepreneurs building technologies in or around the field of synthetic biology . bill is also the lead investment partner on sosv ii ( ireland fund ) and is responsible for sourcing and managing investments for that fund with the irish government .
with more than 150 startups backed annually through its accelerators , sosv is also recognized as the world’s third largest seed investor by volume . sosv’s accelerator model takes a small stake in startups and provides a framework and community where startups get further and faster than they could on their own .
limited partners in sosv’s new fund are a of institutional backers , family offices and tech executives , even some alumni of sosv’s own accelerators . they included : the ifc of the world bank , the lemelson foundation , the russell family foundation , harmonix co - founder alex rigopolous and others .
below is the press release for sosv iii . but first , i have to thank all the gps at sosv that made this fundraise possible , by running the best accelerators in the world . cyril ebersweiler and duncan turner , of hax . arvind gupta and bill liao of indiebio and rebelbio . william bao bean of chinaccelerator and mox . shawn broderick of food - x and stephen mccann , who runs sosv’s back office and legal operations . and the 90 staff at sosv who run these programs and support the more than 500 companies in our portfolio since 2007 . thank you team !
in 2017 , o’ sullivan says , sosv will be looking to start yet another accelerator that gets some of its alumni to an initial public offering .
sosv’s “mobile - only accelerator” is a leading mobile app accelerator , which allows best in breed mobile solutions from mature markets to rapidly penetrate emerging mobile markets .
most of sosv’s accelerators focus on what o’sullivan calls “real world products , ” made of atoms not just bits . when sosv does invest in software , it’s usually an app or service that corresponds with “real world products , ” consumer electronics or medical devices , robotics , food , or life sciences especially genomics .
o’sullivan noted that ten sosv - backed companies ran kickstarter fundraising campaigns for their products that broke the $ 1 million mark as of the end of 2016 .
“the lack of irish lp ( limited partner ) support in ireland for sosv is as disappointing as the lack of irish state support for coderdojo has been .
in the meantime , sosv will be creating later stage accelerators , inspired in part by their growing number of hardware companies now shipping tens of millions of revenue .
speaking earlier this month in san francisco , mr o’sullivan said sosv remains committed to ireland , where it employs around 15 people , mainly in back office roles .
sosv gave us the opportunity to play in a leveled playing field and operate globally . with the funding and support from chinaccelerator and sosv , we managed to relocate the company to europe and start growing it into what it is today , with 20 staff and 100 + customers . when it comes to early stage investment into startups , sosv are second to none in supporting entrepreneurs from any region and any background , as long as they have a solid idea and the ambition to make it happen .
today that firm , sosv , has closed its third fund at $ 150 million to back startups that are admitted to and have graduated from one of its many programs .
sosv is led by founder and managing partner sean o’sullivan alongside six investment partners , all of whom come from operating backgrounds building multi - million dollar startups , including three ipos .
sosv’s mission — enabling startups to go further , faster — has proven out in over 500 early - stage investments since 2007 , with a net irr of over 30 % since the formation of sosv in 1995 . example portfolio companies include makeblock , clara foods , nextthingco , formlabs , breather , getaround , greenblender , memphis meats , harmonix and bitmex .
sosv’s mission – enabling startups to go further , faster – has proven out in over 500 early - stage investments since 2007 , with a net irr of over 30 % since the formation of sosv in 1995 . example portfolio companies include makeblock , clara foods , nextthingco , formlabs , breather , getaround , greenblender , memphis meats , harmonix and bitmex .
in its global innovation investment report - 2016 year in review , crunchbase recently named sosv as the most active global early stage investor and the second most active global seed investor .
the coderdojo movement has proven to be one of ireland’s greatest digital success stories since it was founded in 2011 by a young and eager james whelton and sosv partner bill liao .
3 - 6 month intensive co - located program working alongside other elite startup founder peers . sosv accelerators are some of the most selective in the world with < 5 % acceptance rate .
blackbee investments is launching the accelerator note 1 fund that tracks sosv fund iii which is investing in up to 700 tech startup companies worldwide through its accelerators programs such as hax and indiebio .
sosv provides intellectual and financial capital to accelerate founders’ big ideas for positive change . sosv has funded over 700 startups to date . we currently fund over 150 startups per year through our programs : hax ( hardware and connected devices ) , indiebio & rebelbio ( life sciences ) , chinaccelerator ( cross - border internet & mobile in asia ) and food - x ( food innovation ) .
sosv iii has expertise in building tech companies with a presence in europe , north america and asia across domains such as internet of things , life - saving medicines and new sources of nutrition .
the accelerator note 1 fund will be backed by the growth in value of several hundred high potential start - ups and entrepreneurs from around the world that sosv iii has invested and is investing in .
“we are committed to providing the best and most innovative investment ideas to investors and we are delighted to be working with one of the world’s leading venture capital firms , sosv , in this regard . ”
william bao bean is a general partner at sosv , a us $ 300m venture capital fund that invests in startups in its accelerators across the world . william is also the managing director of sosv’s chinaccelerator , china first startup accelerator based in shanghai and mox , sosv’s mobile only accelerator platform se asia . prior to joining sosv , william was the managing director at singtel innov8 , where he led investments in yodo1 and gmobi , among many others . previously , william was a partner at softbank china & india holdings . william began his career as an equity research analyst , most recently with deutsche bank , where he was responsible for internet and telecom equipment across asia and china technology , media and telecom . in 2005 , he was ranked # 1 stock picker in technology , media and telecom , and # 3 overall for hong kong / china .
hackster is the largest online community for hardware hackers . a key player in the maker open source community , sosv invested in hackster in 2013 as part of our commitment to strengthening the global hardware ecosystem for startups .
“since 2010 , we’ve provided follow - on funding to those companies who develop significant traction and financing support , ” said sean o’sullivan , sosv managing partner . “it’s a proven model…giving us both extraordinary quality and incredible deal flow . ”
with offices in the usa , europe and asia , sosv has access to startups all over the world , and bring their unique mentoring approach to startups in which they invest . the partners at sosv committed $ 100m of their own capital in the fund . targeting world - changing companies , the fund was to back entrepreneurs who are revolutionising everything from the internet of things ( iot ) to life - saving medicine and new sources of nutrition for the world .
sosv , a $ 300 million venture capital fund founded by entrepreneur sean o’sullivan , has stepped back from plans to establish a european version of food - x , its international business accelerator programme for start - ups , in cork .
of eight total , sosv’s better - known accelerators include : hardware - focused hax , food - x for food and agriculture companies , indiebio for life sciences startups , and chinaccelerator for cross - border internet and mobile companies in asia .
the sosv portfolio includes : formlabs , breather , and harmonix . its accelerator alumni include : clara foods , memphis meats , makeblock , prynt , qidni labs , and scores of other companies with brands well - known in tech circles already .
sosv is unique as well , amongst venture funds , for being more than 50 % funded by the gps themselves . that’s right , we are putting our money where our mouths are . many venture funds only put 1 or 2 % of the capital in by the investment partners ( gps ) , while exemplary funds put between 10–20 % of the capital into the pot from the gps . at sosv , we’re fully committed , and we believe in the exceptional value our startups are creating .
search for sosv programs , industries , or companies . we have listed all our companies with their programs and industries so you can enter in whatever you would like to search by , ( e . g
sustainable food
or
china education
)
food - x helped us build and launch a market validated product , raise venture capital , and ultimately exit to one of the leading technology companies in the space . we couldn ' t have achieved what we did without food - x and sosv .
looking for an investment pipeline of some of the best performing startups on the planet ? interested in opportunities hardware , life sciences , disruptive food , or the asia / china cross - border market ? learn more about investing in sosv funds and across our portfolio .
bill liao , founder of rebelbio ( formerly known as indiebio ) and the european venture partner for sosv , who lives in cork , expressed disappointment at the decision , which he said came as a result of the lack of support for the accelerators from institutional investors .
are you a potential market champion that is pioneering new ground , or an investor looking to help scale the companies that will shape our future ? join one of our accelerators or learn about investing in sosv , and let ' s work together to make the impossible inevitable .
given that china has dominated their investments in the asian region , sosv has a geographic wish list . “we love to see companies from all throughout the region , particularly korea , japan , taiwan , indonesia , malaysia , vietnam and india , ” says managing partner sean o’sullivan .
in the last 6 years , sosv has grown to become the third most active seed investor in the world . as well as the # 1 investor in life sciences , # 1 in hardware , # 1 in disruptive food , and # 1 in china cross - border internet & mobile .
sosv , which is headed by sean o’sullivan , has boasted returns averaging 27pc over the past 15 years . o’sullivan’s first company , mapinfo , grew into a us $ 200m public company . among his successful investments to date are netflix and harmonix , creator of guitar hero and irish success storyful .
in recent years , sosv has fired up another accelerator program , called hax boost , for hardware startups that already have a product on the market and real revenue coming in the door . it’s more about helping startups attract corporate partners , get retail distribution and grow their customer base , than it is about scoring more venture capital .
sosv is a multi - stage venture capital investor . we run multiple world - class vertical accelerator programs , and provide seed , venture and growth stage follow - on investment into superstar companies . our unique full - stack model has delivered a net irr over the last 20 years that puts us in the top 10 % of all venture funds worldwide .
“southeast asia’s software scene is growing fast - which is great for our chinaccelerator and mox programs focused on web / social / mobile . on the ‘hard science’ part like robotics and biotech - which are most relevant to sosv via hax and indiebio - south east asia is still very young , ” says ben joffe , a partner at hax ( shenzhen ) .
be purposeful . purpose - driven companies are all the rage , and for very good reason . aligning on a clear purpose is tremendously productive . at sosv our purpose is “making impossible inevitable” , and it drives us to seek out cutting edge technologies that are just ready enough to go mainstream . having a clear purpose is simply the key to team productivity .
“traditionally venture capital is provided by large institutional funds . however , the accelerator note 1 enables individuals and irish investors to get involved in this exciting and dynamic sector . we are committed to providing the best and most innovative investment ideas to investors and we are delighted to be working with one of the world’s leading venture capital firms , sosv in this regard . ”
bill comes to sosv with a wealth of experiences , both in the public and private sectors . a co - founder of coderdojo , a free global network formed to assist young people with learning computer programming , bill also co - founded xing , a pioneering enterprise social networking platform . prior to these endeavors , bill served as coo of davnet , a telecommunications carrier .
the accelerator breathed life into what was previously just an idea . . . the team at sosv truly understands that successful early stage investment is more than just throwing money at an idea - it takes support , advice , and a strong community . we ' re lucky to be part of it , and it ' s why we are where we are today .
the people who invest money for the vc into the startups ( portfolio companies ) are called “gps” ( general partners ) , although terminology varies widely from one investment firm to another . at sosv , we used to call our gps “investment partners” until recently . due to the nature of accelerators , there are a wide range of other staff involved in supporting and selecting our investments .
building a better future means empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs and scientists to solve the biggest challenges that our world is facing today : addressing global health , sustainable food systems , advanced manufacturing , connectivity in the developing world & beyond . nearly half of our portfolio companies directly align to the un’s sustainable development goals and sosv is proud to be a top investor for female founded companies .
its volume may be due to its structure : sosv runs an accelerator for each vertical , such as indiebio ( san francisco ) and rebelbio ( cork , ireland ) for life sciences , hax ( shenzhen , san francisco ) for hardware , robotics , internet of things , and medical devices , and chinaccelerator ( shanghai ) and mox ( taipei ) for china cross - border internet and mobile .
sosv , which was previously known as sos ventures , was established by former dragon’s den star and mapinfo co - founder sean o’sullivan in 1993 . it has funded over 500 starts - up since it was set up and is currently funding over 150 firms a year through its accelerators , which cover areas such as hardware , software biology , food , robotics , medical devices , transportation and green energy .
joffe continued that another often - overlooked factor is personality . as start - ups accepted to sosv will be welcomed within their family of entrepreneurs in each ecosystem ( hardware , biotech , food - tech , and so on ) , it’s important to get along with colleagues . “they can benefit tremendously from the support of peers , which is a competitive advantage you can’t really find elsewhere , ” he points out .
we at sosv are passionate about giving back ( “should giving back be a key marker of a company’s success ? ” ) . whether engineering and mapping for war - torn iraq with jumpstart , teaching over 40 , 000 kids coding at one of 1350 coderdojos worldwide , or engaging teachers and students in mathematics with khan academy , our charitable projects are constantly seeking out innovative and ‘disruptive’ initiatives that can be scaled globally .
the 65 investors in sosv iii range from formerly - backed founders and tech executives to major family offices , private foundations and multinational corporations . lps include the ifc of the world bank , the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets ; the lemelson foundation , focused on improving lives through invention ; the russell family foundation , a philanthropic enterprise advancing sustainability and leadership in the pacific northwest ; and austin hearst .
sosv stepped into the big gap left behind by vcs in the last 10 years as fund sizes got larger and larger , while the typical vc model hasn’t scaled . with larger numbers of “early stage” investors putting $ 10m or more into series a rounds , there became a huge need , and hole , in the market , for investors who would fund the earlier - stage startups that need to get to the multi - million dollar run - rate that series a investors now expect .
sean o ' sullivan is an entrepreneur , inventor and investor , born in new york city and currently living in county cork , ireland . he is best known for co - founding mapinfo corporation , which popularized street maps on computers , and for coining the term
cloud computing
. he is managing director at carma , a global software company , and at sosv , a $ 250m venture capital operation . o ' sullivan has had an unusually diverse career , being described as a
renaissance man
.
sean o’sullivan is founder and managing director of sosv . sean got his entrepreneurial start as a founder of mapinfo , bringing street mapping technology to personal computers . mapinfo went on to become a $ 200 million public company with over 1 , 000 employees . in another startup , he and george favaloro from compaq invented the term “cloud computing . ” sean has continued as a visionary entrepreneur and investor , creating and supporting a range of businesses , humanitarian and educational endeavors , including jumpstart international , coderdojo , mathletes and khan academy .
the 65 investors in sosv iii range from formerly - backed founders and tech executives to major family offices , private foundations and multinational corporations . lps include the ifc of the world bank , the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets ; the lemelson foundation , focused on improving lives through invention ; the russell family foundation , a philanthropic enterprise advancing sustainability and leadership in the pacific northwest ; alex rigopulos , chairman and co - founder of harmonix music systems ; bobby voicu , co - founder of social gaming site mavenhut ; and austin hearst .
as an investor , at sosv we will occasionally see companies that see the whole founding team change out . this is an unfortunate , rare circumstance , and usually happens because of situations beyond a founder’s control , such as a death in the family . it can happen due to incompetence , or it can happen due to the unpredictable nature of startups and / or a change in market opportunity . the new core team of leaders , who are possibly recruited by the previous founder ( s ) , are generally compensated with the shares of the original founders who didn’t see the company through to profitability .
sean o’sullivan is founder and managing director of sosv . sean got his entrepreneurial start as a founder of mapinfo , bringing street mapping technology to personal computers . mapinfo went on to become a $ 200 million public company with over 1 , 000 employees . in another startup , he and george favaloro from compaq invented the term “cloud computing . ” sean has continued as a visionary entrepreneur and investor , creating and supporting a range of businesses , humanitarian and educational endeavors , including jumpstart international , coderdojo , mathletes and khan academy . sean graduated from rensselaer polytechnic institute in 1985 with a degree in electrical engineering .
limerick aims to be ‘lighthouse’ for smart cities as part of €6 . 5m eu project
two - year - old irish - born coding phenomenon coderdojo is currently in the top 5 of a global public vote competition organised by microsoft’s azure developer community to grant us $ 100 , 000 to the top education non - profits in the world .
coderdojo is ( at the time of writing ) in second place behind black girls code in first position .
as part of the azuredevs competition microsoft will donate us $ 50 , 000 to the organisation with the most votes , us $ 20 , 000 to the second highest , and us $ 10 , 000 to each of the three runners up .
beyond helping technology education non - profits , as an azuredev the organisations will gain access to exclusive content and technology leaders from microsoft and the community throughout the year .
non - profit coderdojo was formed two years ago almost to the day by james whelton , just weeks after he completed his leaving cert , with the help of entrepreneur bill liao . whelton started up non - profit organisation coderdojo on a saturday morning with the simple idea that kids would show up and with the help of mentors learn how to code . within weeks , coderdojos began happening in community halls and office canteens from arranmore off the coast of donegal to major cities like london and new york .
today , more than 16 , 000 children worldwide are taught to code every saturday in more than 120 dojos in 22 countries , including places such as la , silicon valley , tokyo , africa and the caribbean – all on a voluntary basis .
in the past two years it has grown to see over 16 , 000 kids from the ages of six upwards gather every saturday in more than 26 countries worldwide to learn basic web and computer skills , html , css , advanced css , beginners’ javascript , advanced javascript / j - query , advanced java and various flavours c .
at build 2013 , microsoft’s annual developer conference in san francisco , the software giant released a preview of its windows 8 . 1 as well as availability of its new development platform visual studio 2013 as well as windows azure mobile service s enabling organisations to publish apps to azure and other cloud platforms for use across windows , windows mobile , ios , android and many more app platforms .
microsoft revealed that 1 , 000 businesses a day are signing up to the azure cloud platform .
microsoft buys github for $ 7 . 5bn : the 5 things you need to know
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may captivate consumers and investors at the moment , but the future of technology will be much more dizzyingly weird . chances are , the most radical innovations in the 21st century won ' t be built on silicon but on dna . over the past few years , the ease of crafting genes from scratch has gone way up , while the cost has gone way down .
but while the curve of biology ' s version of moore ' s law bends upward , major obstacles remain to the kind of startup explosion ignited in personal computing by better , cheaper digital technology . and the difference comes down to this : everything in steve jobs ' garage was basically dry . unlike other kinds of engineering , the essential materials of biotech are both wet and alive . and this makes working with them much more complicated than pulling out a laptop or a soldering iron .
an effort is under way , however , to make working with wet stuff easier in the hope of putting biology on more equal footing with less viscous technologies . and one of the tools that has biohackers buzzing at the moment is the opentrons , an open - source liquid - handling robot designed to make biotech not just drier and faster but also a lot more accessible to anyone with an idea .
the opentrons project originated at genspace , a community biolab in brooklyn founded in the diy spirit of the maker movement . though genetic engineering technology has existed for decades , the practice of gene - splicing itself has mostly remained walled off within the confines of academic research institutions and corporate biotech . but enthusiast communities like genspace have started to emerge around the world , inspired by the notion that putting biotechnology into the hands of more people could lead to a flourishing of creativity and discovery .
once this platform gets going , people will be able to collaborate on biotech projects the way they can collaborate on code today ,
says opentrons co - founder will canine .
anyone who has ever worked in a biology lab or hung out in one knows the work can be tedious and repetitive . while the science itself is complex , the labor involved in experimenting and engineering largely consists of sucking liquid out of one vial with a handheld instrument called a pipette and squirting it back into another one .
our life science experts spend most of their time doing manual labor ,
canine says .
it ' s a huge bottleneck for research .
as opentrons ' creators point out , the process isn ' t just boring but also error - prone . human eyes , hands , and brains just can ' t ensure the kind of precise consistency that a robot can . lab robots are nothing new in biotech . but they tend to be incredibly expensive machines based on proprietary tech and intended for a narrow market of professional users .
> ' people will be able to collaborate on biotech projects the way they can collaborate on code today . '
the opentrons , by contrast , is open source , meaning anyone can copy , build , and modify the tech as they see fit . its brain is a raspberry pi microcomputer , which costs all of $ 35 , and many of its other components built with off - the - shelf technology .
the rapid rise of 3 - d printing , canine says , has led to a dramatic decrease in the price of the precision mechanical components needed to accurately transfer liquids . these components help keep the opentrons ' price down to $ 2 , 000 for the basic model—not trivial , but also less than the cost of a new imac .
the project , canine says , also aims to the device ' s software as accessible as possible . instead of a proprietary programming language , the opentrons uses a javascript - based , drag - and - drop web interface for designing and running experiments .
we ' re at the beginning of the digitization and automation of biotech ,
says ryan bethencourt , who helps run indie bio , an arm of sos ventures , which backed opentrons through its haxlr8tr hardware accelerator . bethencourt is also a backer of opentrons ' kickstarter .
the beauty of opentrons is that it ' s built for researchers who don ' t want to program , who are used to modern and simple user interfaces .
canine ' s early hopes for opentrons may not sound glamorous . he ' s very excited about its potential to create standard , consistent lab protocols that yield regular , reproducible data .
the very first thing for us is giving people the ability to email a protocol ,
he says .
but he ' s also hopeful about the most ambitious applications for biotech . he says opentrons is working with modern meadow , which is working to
print
meat and leather without killing animals . he also sees great potential in synthetic biology , the branch of biotech working to stitch together novel organisms using one letter of the genetic alphabet at a time to brew everything from fertilizers to anti - malarial drugs .
whatever the application , canine believes a better biotech future will be hastened the more hands and minds can be freed up from doing the grunt work of biology .
today people—ph . ds—spend most of their time moving tiny amounts of liquid by hand ,
he says .
our robot makes it so they don ' t have to do that .
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breather , the on - demand private room service has raised $ 20m led by peter thiel’s valar ventures . the series b brings breather’s full raise to $ 27m . this round also had participation from real ventures , rre ventures , slow ventures and sos ventures . valar will join the board .
rooms were set up as “secret places” within cities like new york that allow you to get work done , have meetings or whatever you’d rather not do at a starbucks . the best usecase is when you’re traveling , because sometimes you just need to sit down with some wifi at a place that’s not a coffee shop or a hotel . its app lets you find a room , pay and unlock the door .
i chatted with breather’s co - founder and ceo julien smith about how far the business has come and what’s on deck next for the company that got through the initial giggles about what would be going on its rooms . the immediate plan , smith says is : “new cities , marketing , growing existing cities . we really believe there can be a unit like this in every commercial building in america . completely serious . ”
right now the average breather is booked for 2 + hours , but can go from 30 minutes to an entire day . smith also says “thousands” of bookings roll in weekly .
js : wow , so much . i had a lot of ideas about what the company would be before we began , but they were basically just guesses . we just had a thesis that private space would be useful to people ( if it were affordable and nice ) and we didn’t think with too much intent about what the audience would be .
the service basically took off immediately after we launched , so we clarified who we are speaking to really quickly . we know the audience better , we know how to talk about the product , we know what kind of spaces people want and for what reason , we know how the operations work , etc . etc . we started with a huge emptiness in terms of our understanding and just an optimistic idea . lucky for us , we turned out to be pretty right .
js : multiple people have proposed in breathers – that was a huge surprise . people use them for meetups all the time , and although that’s pretty commonplace , we were surprised to see it . women use it to breast - feed , which makes sense , and there are church groups as well . music videos and documentaries for netflix have been shot in them . famous actors have used them to rehearse for big movies . press previews and little fashion shows . all kinds of things . people even use them for training sessions for new employees .
js : the network effects in this business are very , very strong , perhaps even stronger than uber , because location , quality , and trust are so important to us getting a booking . a car can move , but rooms don’t , so the same way you always go to the closest , most convenient coffee shop , and won’t go if it’s too far away , we have to be very , very close to the user for the service to be effective for them .
js : yeah , for example i was strongly against technology inside breather locations for a super long time . i barely even wanted wifi in the spaces at all . but now it became clear that traditional things like whiteboards , flatscreen tvs , and other business type amenities are pretty helpful . there’s a line we won’t cross – you won’t see any fax machines in breather locations anytime soon for example – but we really started to accommodate the user on things like this even though we started with a pretty strong stance against it .
every city in america ? sounds like a grand plan . right now , breather is available in new york , boston , san francisco , montreal and ottawa .
y combinator , which set off a whirlwind of skeptical commentary when it opened its highly ranked tech accelerator program to biotechnology startups last spring , now has some company .
sos ventures , the international vc firm that already holds accelerator programs for software and hardware company founders , is launching a separate accelerator called indiebio in san francisco and the city of cork , ireland , for entrepreneurial teams in fields that include synthetic biology .
like mountain view , ca - based y combinator , sos ventures is betting that innovators in certain biotech sectors—bioinformatics , automated lab technology , and the intensive form of genetic engineering known as synthetic biology—can profit from the jumpstart delivered by accelerator programs . indiebio co - founder arvind gupta , a partner at sos ventures , says the firm is trying to create a financial and technology ecosystem that allows biotech entrepreneurs the same freedom as app developers to succeed outside of big companies or universities .
“these accelerators are a third way for people to build their own dreams and secure their own futures , ” gupta says .
gupta joined sos ventures in september 2013 with a primary goal of setting up an accelerator for synthetic biology . “my first love was genetic engineering , ’’ at uc santa barbara in the mid - 1990s , he says . synthetic biologists re - design metabolic pathways in organisms—often microbes such as yeast—and harness them to make products such as fuels and useful chemicals . technology advances in recent years have made synthetic biology easier and faster . the task of assembling novel dna strands is now similar to writing code at a computer , he says .
sos ventures partner bill liao ran a pilot synthetic biology accelerator for six startups in cork , ireland , early this year , with outcomes that encouraged him to team with gupta to found indiebio . one of the cork graduates was muufri ( moo - free , get it ? ) , a startup founded to use bioengineered microbes to make an “animal - free” milk substitute containing similar proteins and fats , but no lactose or cholesterol .
sos ventures now plans to run two indiebio sessions in san francisco ( starting in january and september ) , and one in cork ( beginning in may ) . in november , indiebio is moving into a 15 , 000 - square - foot space on two floors in downtown san francisco . in the building at 485 jessie street , startups will occupy both office space and lab space at no charge . sos ventures will also kick in $ 35 , 000 in seed money in exchange for 8 percent equity . applications for about 10 spots in the first 100 - day san francisco program are due by november 1 .
gupta says the benefits for startups are comparable to those at y combinator , which offers $ 120 , 000 in seed funding but doesn’t provide office or lab space . both accelerators supply mentors and contacts with potential follow - on investors .
in y combinator’s recent summer session , the five teams of biotech founders made up a small fraction of the 80 participants , who were primarily involved in software development and other hi - tech projects . two were synthetic biology companies—boston , ma - based ginkgo bioworks , whose automated foundry produces bioengineered microbes to clients’ specifications ; and san francisco - based glowing plant , which makes a small , luminous plant that contains genes from fireflies and marine bacteria . the members of yc’s first “biotech class” gave high marks to the program .
gupta says he thinks indiebio startups will benefit from its concentrated focus on synthetic biology . but gupta doesn’t see indiebio as a rival to y combinator , or incubators such as qb3 at uc san francisco’s mission bay campus .
“none of us are competing , ” he says . instead , they’re creating an overall environment that supports biotechnology companies in their early stages , he says .
“if we can’t help build that ecosystem , whatever businesses we help build will fail , ” gupta says .
bernadette tansey is xconomy ' s san francisco editor . you can reach her at btansey @ xconomy . com . follow @ tansey _ xconomy
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floyd landis feels he was thrown to the wolves when he was stripped of the 2006 tour de france after testing positive for testosterone . and he believes cycling has a long way to go to restore its reputation
when britain voted to exit the eu , the hope was that ireland would gain as financial services companies rushed to leave london for more eu - friendly bases , boosting employment opportunities here . so far , though , it’s been more of a trickle than a flood
the key to a successful tasting menu experience is balance ; you’re looking for a mix of light and rich dishes in appropriate portions , and here , local chef john kelly seems to have got that balance just right .
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this week’s article is by alan clayton , business coach @ sosventures . follow alan on twitter @ thealanclayton .
in 3 weeks , across 3 continents , and at 4 accelerator programmes i met 40 start up companies this month , all in pursuit of the lean , mean , capitalist dream . or are they ?
in case you didn’t know , accelerator programs or ( axlr8rs ) are the new mba . ever since paul graham gave birth to ycombinator in silicon valley in 2005 , the idea of getting a group of start up companies in a room together , fueling them for 100 days with the best mentorship money can’t buy ( the mentorship is free ! ) , and then presenting them on stage in front of a herd of greedy investors to plead for funding , has become a global phenomenon . it’s now at the point where too many start up teams see winning the investment funding as the main purpose of the exercise . ( it isn’t ) .
accelerators like techstars , and startupbootcamp in ireland , work like mini - investment funds . the accelerator provides small amounts of funding , usually between $ 10k – $ 30k per company , a cool work space , a roster of impressive mentors , decent coffee and a fridge stocked with beer , in exchange for a 5 - 10 % stake in each company . accelerators are generally funded by a consortium of venture capitalists and angel investors .
more recently , public bodies and multinationals such as nike , ge and ireland’s own pch , have spawned their own accelerators , having woken up to the idea that accelerators are a great way to identify the next facebook at the earliest signs of life , with less cost than traditional approaches to r & d and innovation .
at this point a distinction should be made between incubators and accelerators . and the clue is in the language . an accelerator is something used to dramatically increase speed and may result in crashing into a wall . an incubator is something used to nurture very delicate and immature objects for an open ended period of time . it can often have a sad outcome . incubators are more - or - less a real - estate play , and are often run by government authorities or real - estate companies . in the start - up world , incubators are now completely out of fashion , as successful entrepreneurs don’t like to be mollycoddled by people who aren’t even entrepreneurs themselves .
for newbie tech investors an accelerator provides a chance to buy a meaningful stake in a company for a relatively small amount of cash ( $ 15k - $ 25k ) . for more seasoned investors , the main benefit is the chance it gives to see the best new startups at the earliest possible stage , and to work with these start - ups over a several month period to determine if the entrepreneur is capable of delivering their promises . many investors also become mentors , as they tend to be exactly the individuals who have already proven themselves as successful entrepreneurs , and really do care about those who come after .
one definition of a startup says a startup is not just an early stage version of a regular business , but rather a venture focussed on massive and sustained growth from the outset . startups ‘pivot’ when data provides evidence that growth will come faster by changing some aspect of the business model . in an accelerator , exposure to self - imposed pressure and awareness of competitive and co - operative teams stuck with the same tight deadlines , plus the prodding and challenging advice by a stream of mentors , allows the startup team to grow and pivot multiple times in a shockingly short period of time .
above all , an accelerator program provides a set of relationships . relationships with technical and business development experts , relationships with peers in the accelerator class , and relationships to potential investors .
accelerators have also evolved from the general – software ( launchpad ) or hardware ( haxlr8r ) to more industry specific . health ( health xl – dublin , rock health – usa ) , education ( socratic labs – usa , mindcet – israel ) to name a few .


tamoil is the trading name of the oilinvest group , a fuel energy provider within the european downstream oil and gas sector .

the oilinvest group refines crude oil and markets refined oil products primarily under the tamoil and the hem brands in europe .

the oilinvest group is involved in supplying , trading , refining and selling petroleum products in italy , germany , switzerland , spain and the netherlands and carries out its trading activities from cyprus .

the headquarters of oilinvest ( netherlands ) b.v. is located in the world trade center the hague , from where it oversees all its investments in the european oil downstream markets .

the ceo is mr. asim gusbi .

tamoil

“ tamoil ' s activities in europe ” . tamoil , retrieved 18 october 2011 .
tamoil espana is a subsidiary of tamoil italia . it has headquarters located in barcelona , with all operations carried out in full coordination with tamoil italia management .
in 2016 , the gross turnover of tamoil sa amounted to chf 1350 million .
at tamoil switzerland’s headquarters in geneva , stéphane trachsler , confirmed to urltoken in writing that the decision had been taken by tamoil sa and ratified by the shareholders .
the tamoil engine oils are available from all service station shops located in switzerland .
tamoil sa © 2018 . all rights reserved . website designed & powered by sabina advertising
“ tamoil faces sanctions as holding company wound up ” . pennenergy , 01 april 2011 .
“ tamoil faces sanctions as holding company wound up ” . pennenergy , 1 april 2011 .
“ libya ' s tamoil bought by us firm ” . bbc news , 6 june 2007 .
tamoil ( switzerland ) sa manages more than 260 service stations throughout the national territory of switzerland .
the oilinvest group engages in lubricant blending , marketing and trading through its tamoil affiliates , and in international trading of a wide variety of lubricants through its wholly - owned subsidiary , tamoil overseas ltd .
stronger logistics have also benefited tamoil italia’s wholesale activities , with a particular growth in the jet business .
“ libya cancels sale of tamoil to us firm ” . high beam research , 04 march 2008 .
tamoil overseas limited trades on world markets in crude oil , refined products and petrochemicals , and lubricants .
tamoil is in tune with its customers and endeavours to offer products along with the services that meet these expectations .
historically , libya ' s international downstream operations have been carried out via two sister companies , known as tamoil europe and tamoil africa . the ultimate holding entity for tamoil europe was oilinvest ( holdings ) , registered in the dutch caribbean territory of curaçao . oilinvest ( netherlands ) controls 8 direct subsidiaries registered in italy , switzerland , cyprus , britain , germany and monaco . a number of additional companies are held through an indirect dutch subsidiary , tamoil beheer .
“ libya ' s tamoil says it ' s not under eu sanctions ” . wall street journal , 24 march 2011 .
tamoil , which bought the plant in 1990 , employs 238 people at the 50 - year - old refinery in canton valais .
tamoil italia is a large producer of lubricants and co - owner of a lubes plant based in italy tamoil lubricants are blended in this modern plant with three lines of production : automotive , industrial and greases . thanks to its technical know - how , the tamoil lubricant products are endorsed by official approvals from car , truck and powertrain makers ( o . e . m . ) .
shipping is essential to provide the continuous flow of supplies tamoil’s refinery needs to function efficiently , and to support its trading and supply activities and brokerage services to key commercial partners . tamoil’s strict chartering policy meets the most stringent safety and fitness legislation governing chartered tonnage .
however , despite exemption from official sanctions , many partners such as shell and bp halted supplies of fuel to tamoil service stations , resulting in the group bringing forward closure at its swiss refinery for planned maintenance . in addition , tamoil did not succeed in escaping the effect of sanctions in africa , where uganda announced in march that it would freeze tamoil east africa ' s $ 375 million of assets in the country .
since its entry into the swiss market in 1990 , tamoil ( switzerland ) sa has never ceased to strengthen its position and improve its competitiveness .
tamoil’s swiss branch is letting go a reported 272 workers at its refinery in the southwest of the country as a result of heavy financial losses .
switzerland’s best known oil refinery and the country ' s extensive network of tamoil filling stations could be targeted by the next round of . . .
tamoil is engaged in lubricant blending , marketing and trading . tamoil overseas limited is also involved in the international trading of a range of high tech mineral , synthetic and semi - synthetic oils , marketing to more than 20 european and far east countries through a network of partners and distributors .
tamoil has a large range of high quality lubricants for your cars , motorbikes , businesses , agricultural and forestry holdings as well as the industry .
tamoil italia is a large producer of lubricants and co - owner of a lubes plant based in italy . thanks to its technical know - how , the tamoil lubricant products are endorsed by official approvals from car , truck and powertrain makers ( o . e . m . ) such as : porsche , mercedes , audi - volkswagen , volvo - renault - mack , zf and voith . furthermore tamoil italia is not only operating at a national level , but is also in charge of developing the lubes business in europe . tamoil overseas limited leads the international trading in the rest of the world .
libyan - owned tamoil ' s has announced plans to suspend operations at its refinery in south - western switzerland as a result of heavy financial losses .
tamoil ' s swiss branch has announced plans to suspend operations at its refinery in the south west of the country as a result of heavy financial losses .
in the past tamoil has been at the centre of a controversy to clean - up the plant and was threatened with an operations ban over environmental pollution .
tamoil companies offer a comprehensive range of high tech mineral , semi - synthetic and synthetic oils for automotive and industrial applications , covering the needs of a wide variety of end markets . in - house product development guarantees the continuous update of tamoil lubricants in accordance with the latest and most stringent original equipment manufacturers’ standards .
lebanese - american financier roger tamraz , the founder of tamoil , says he would consider buying back the collombey refinery in switzerland with a view to reopening it .
for lorries , some of our tamoil service stations are equipped with high volume pumps , which allows them to achieve a flow capacity of 130 litres per minute .
with roots dating back as far as 1945 , tamoil sa has a 70 - year history of operation within the petroleum refining and retail sector . the company is part of the oilinvest group that currently manages its tamoil and hem brands throughout italy , germany , switzerland , spain and the netherlands from its headquarters in the netherlands . today tamoil sa represents one of the leading oil companies operating within the swiss market , with a total level of sales of approximately 1 . 2 . million tonnes annually .
tamoil espana takes a proactive stance in the market , and the company continually monitors developments , with a view to expanding the network if and when appropriate opportunities arise .
the ministry said issam zanati , who heads tamoil and its oilinvest holding company , met natural resources minister yuri trutnev to discuss the group’s plans to invest in russia .
tamoil has three partnerships for the management of the service station shops : they have been selected according to their expertise and the recognised qualities in the world of mass distribution .
“tamoil is continuing to explore all the possible options in order to make a final decision about the refinery . selling is one of these options , ” wrote the company spokesman .
tamoil lubricants are blended and packed in a modern , highly automated , iso 9000 certified plant located in northern italy , with dedicated production lines for both automotive and industrial product families .
oilinvest controls 95 percent of tamoil , which owns more than 3 , 000 service stations in europe , concentrated in italy , and oil refineries in italy , switzerland , spain and germany .
tamoil is the commercial name of the company , oilinvest , which is based in the netherlands and is active in oil and maritime transport . in addition to refineries , tamoil owns more than 3 , 000 service stations in europe . its turnover is estimated at almost $ 20 billion ( chf19 billion ) , although the group does not publish figures . in turn , oilinvest belongs to the
moscow ( reuters ) - tamoil , libya’s european oil refiner and distributor , is interested in acquiring oil licenses and refineries in russia , the russian natural resources ministry said in a statement on tuesday .
its products are sold through tamoil’s own retailing operations , and marketed to third parties in more than 20 countries throughout europe , africa and the middle east , through a network of partners and distributors .
moscow , nov 11 ( reuters ) - tamoil , libya’s european oil refiner and distributor , is interested in acquiring oil licences and refineries in russia , the russian natural resources ministry said in a statement on tuesday .
tamoil ( switzerland ) sa is a limited company , which forms part of the oilinvest ( netherlands ) b . v . group . its commercial activities are centred around the sale and distribution of petroleum products in switzerland .
despite tuesday’s announcement , tamoil says it plans to continue its presence in switzerland in the retail and wholesale sectors , where it currently has a network of 300 service stations , selling 2 . 3 million tonnes of petroleum products .
tamoil overseas limited also has an independent research & analysis department offering the benefits of its 20 years ' experience in the global oil and gas industry , providing data , research , solutions and training to clients and partners alike .
the valais government , meanwhile , criticised tamoil’s decision . the head of the valais cantonal government jean - michel cina said he had asked the firm to study all possible options including a five - year deadline to decide the plant’s future .
such activity meets both the requirements of the group’s holborn refinery in germany ( its cremona and collombey refineries having been converted into strategic depots ) and its trading activities . tamoil’s crude oil once came almost entirely from libya , supplemented as required from other regions . diversification by region and grade has helped it become an important player in international markets . trading in a variety of grades has also enabled tamoil to optimise its refinery runs and to meet continually changing product quality specifications .
in 2007 tamoil was on the verge of being bought out by us private equity firm colony capital in a deal valued at $ 5 . 4 billion . the libyan government would have maintained a 35 percent stake in the company . [ 5 ] however in march 2008 then head of the lia mohammed layas announced that the deal had been cancelled and that the libyan government had signed a deal transferring ownership of tamoil holding company oilinvest to the recently founded lia . [ 6 ]
although crude oil dominates tamoil overseas ltd’s business , the company is also active in products trading , both selling products like gasoil and jet fuel originating from libya to external markets such as tunisia and morocco , and supplying libya with imported mogas .
the tamoil group is a downstream oil company formerly controlled by its libyan - owned holding company oilinvest , until the latter was wound up in march 2011 following the uprising in libya , theoretically leaving the company without an ultimate owner . [ 1 ]
in the wake of civil unrest in libya in 2011 , the tamoil group was told it was not covered by eu sanctions imposed against the libyan nation and could operate independently despite the measures , due to its complex ownership structure . [ 7 ]
oilinvest controls 95 percent of tamoil , which owns more than 3 , 000 service stations in europe , concentrated in italy , and oil refineries in italy , switzerland , spain and germany . ( reporting by robin paxton ; editing by james jukwey )
between 1992 and 2008 , tamoil sa built up a network of affiliates , acquiring 16 local jobbers to enable sales – mostly of heating oil - to end consumers . from 2009 onward , the network was streamlined and consolidated into five wholly owned subsidiaries .
although the interruption of refining operations and the change of focus to supply and retail have occurred in rapid succession , the transition has been both smooth and successful for tamoil sa . this is partly because of the company’s strong infrastructure around the collombey refinery and throughout switzerland .
swiss holding of the oilinvest group , its share capital amounts to chf 35 . 05 million . as for its operating company , tamoil sa , it has a share capital of chf 90 million . the company coordinates all logistics , commercial and financial activities of all finished products .
the bulk of tamoil overseas limited’s crude oil supply and trading takes place between producers and suppliers in north africa ( libya / algeria / egypt ) , west africa ( nigeria ) , the north sea ( norway / great britain / denmark ) , russia , kazakhstan and azerbaijan .
oilinvest , based in the netherlands , is unique in the fleet of libyan state - owned entities . known as tamoil to oil traders and drivers refuelling at the group ' s petrol stations , it was cobbled together in the 1980s from the italian assets of the american oil majors amoco and texaco .
“if you dig into the ownership structure of tamoil , you think you are in a john le carré novel , ” said philippe nantermod , a valais politician who has fought to limit the fallout of refinery closure . even the local mayor of collombey - muraz , yannick buttet , is not sure .
“since 2000 we invested more than chf700 million ( $ 685 million ) to raise the refinery’s competitiveness and improve its economic and environmental performance . in spite of our efforts , we consider the continuation of refining operations at collombey to be unsustainable at this time , ” declared tamoil managing director nuri rifaat .
originally the oilinvest group focused on leveraging its libyan origins , building a bridge between libya’s oil reserves and leading european energy markets . tamoil’s crude oil once came almost entirely from libya , supplemented as required from other regions . diversification by region and grade has helped it become an important player in international markets .
netoil founded and built europe’s tamoil corporation by purchasing and combining all of the italian assets of amoco ( standard oil company of indiana ) and of texaco corporation ( 1 , 000 service stations each ) , starting in the 1980s . with 100 % ownership , netoil expanded the company to 3 , 000 service stations , three refineries , an extensive pipeline distribution system and a refining capacity of 255 , 000 barrels of oil per day . tamoil today has annual sales of $ 20 billion and a market capitalization of $ 6 . 3 billion . the company operates in germany , the netherlands , switzerland , italy and spain .
the shops in our tamoil stations offer a range of products that are adapted to the needs of modern and mobile consumers . they consist of a wide selection of food and non - food products . our 108 shops are open 7 days a week and they are ready to welcome you beyond the regular shop opening hours .
the oilinvest group is a major player in the european downstream oil industry . playing a vital role at every stage of the value chain , our two main brands tamoil and hem employ around 1000 people , sell in excess of 10 million tons of fuel products every year and generate an annual net turnover of over €5 billion .
significantly , in late march 2011 the holding company oilinvest was wound up , severing connections between the lia and tamoil . it therefore became unclear the influence the libyan government now held over the company . [ 8 ] a further setback came in september 2011 , when the contract for the construction of the african eldoret kampala pipeline was cancelled . the kenyan and ugandan governments cited that they had lost confidence in the firm ' s ability to carry out operations after the fall of gaddafi ' s regime , which had pledged to finance over 70 percent of the costs . [ 9 ] the exact nature of the ownership of tamoil remained unresolved as of october 2011 .
over the coming months tamoil sa will focus on further developing retail and expanding its client base through its network of affiliates . furthermore the company will seek to increase its investments into new products to increase its service offering . “switzerland is now progressively shifting to bio fuels even if the country has very stringent regulations in relation to this product , ” concludes marketing director , jürg hornisberger . “on the bio diesel side there are now more possibilities to get access to swiss certified bio fuels . one of the targets and strategies for tamoil is to develop the sale of bio diesel out of all its tank farms . this will be mainly developed over the next year . ”
tamoil sa is one of switzerland’s leading oil companies , with annual sales of around 1 . 1 million tonnes and a turnover of 1 . 3 billion chf . until recently , it ran one of switzerland’s two refineries , at collombey , but decided in march 2015 to suspend operations , as current conditions made the continuation of operations unsustainable .
in 1990 , when tamoil took over of the swiss network of service stations , the “shop concept” was still in its infancy just like in the neighbouring countries . at that time , the majority of the sales outlets were owned by garages and adjoining shops that focussed on the sale of vehicle accessories . since then , the world of service stations has undergone a dramatic change .
when your adblue® signal flashes and beeps for the first time on your driving screen , you only have 2400 km of autonomy left before the vehicle breaks down . although your first reaction will be to contact your dealer , we recommend you fill it up yourself at one of the tamoil service stations where you will find 5 or 10 litres cans in order to save costs and time .
the company’s sales within the swiss market are driven through three main channels comprised of : a national retail network of 266 service stations , a wholesale unit with annual volumes of two million tons and a heating oil business that serves more than 70 , 000 end customers . within the heating oil market in particular , tamoil sa works with several affiliate companies to ensure the smooth and efficient distribution of its refined products . “the operations that we refer to as affiliates are companies that belong 100 per cent to the tamoil swiss organisation . these affiliates are heavily focused on the end customers sales business for all products but mainly heating oil , ” explains stéphane trachsler , acting general manager for tamoil sa . “the basic scope of these companies is to deliver the heating oil to the client’s home where it will be stored and burnt for heating . this is relatively unique to switzerland , where heating oil still plays a very important role in heating homes whereas in other countries it has almost disappeared because natural gas or other heating systems are used instead . at the same time the affiliates also sell gasoline and diesel to larger end consumers that have their own tanks and pumps to refill their trucks and cars . ”
in retail , the company operates a network of 257 service stations , 107 of which have convenience stores ; overall , tamoil sa has a 6 . 2 % share of the swiss market . in a climate of aggressive price competition and negative market growth , the company has been focusing on developing incentives to protect market share , and improvements in its convenience store operation , to boost earnings from non - fuel sales .
resellers and final users are supported by a skilled and experienced team that provides technical service through visits , lab analyses , training activities and technical documentation . the quality of tamoil lubricants is widely recognised , and endorsed by official approvals from car , truck and powertrain makers ( o . e . m . ) such as : porsche , mercedes , audi - volkswagen , volvo - renault - mack , zf and voith .
tamoil’s trading activities have been extended into a diversified portfolio of products such as petrochemicals and olefins ( pygas , methanol , crude c4 , propylene , polyethylene , sulphur and urea ) , products it now supplies direct to end - consumers in europe , the usa , the middle east and asia . the company is also active in fuel oil and naphtha , and is looking into other markets such as bio diesel and lng .
the oilinvest group is a major player in the european downstream oil industry . playing a vital role at every stage of the value chain , our two main brands tamoil and hem employ around 1000 people , sell in excess of 10 million tons of fuel products every year and generate an annual gross turnover of € 12 . 7 billion . wholly owned by the libyan state , its head office is at the hague in the netherlands .
tamoil italia s . p . a began in 1986 , when a private investor acquired amoco’s entire italian operation , consisting of a refinery in cremona and a network of service stations . in 1988 , it was acquired by the oilinvest group . the company’s recent history has seen two major moves , driven by developments in the industry and pressures in the wider economy : the closure of cremona refinery , and a refocusing of the company’s strategy toward logistics and retailing .
tamoil is the brand name of the libyan - backed oilinvest b . v . which was established by the libyan state to invest in downstream assets in europe . within the three years following its creation in 1988 , the group built a portfolio of activities through the acquisition of various refining and marketing assets across europe . its business has evolved around three major national hubs and each of these operates in a semi - autonomous manner and all have developed their own strategies
libya ' s acquisition of the tamoil brand in 1988 formed part of a pattern of national oil companies buying refining and marketing assets in developed markets to serve as an outlet for their crude oil production . oilinvest originally functioned as a front for the libyan government , with the national oil corporation ( noc ) holding a 70 percent stake alongside the libyan arab external bank ( 15 % ) and the libyan investment authority ( lia ) , with 15 % . [ 4 ]
today , of the 260 tamoil service stations in switzerland , 108 of them have a shop or a grocer’s shop on the motorway network . in doing so , the reception of clients is of utmost importance and we endeavour to develop a warm atmosphere , good quality services as well as innovative commercial promotional campaigns irrespective of where we are located . furthermore , the management of a service station is now a particularly complex activity , which requires the supervisors to have some experience in the retail trade .
the oilinvest group dates back to 1988 , and the consolidation of various european energy investments that had been made by the libyan state . the tamoil brand was launched with the acquisition of an italian refinery and retail network , and grown swiftly through expansion in italy and extension to switzerland in 1990 , germany in 1991 , spain in 1992 and the netherlands in 1993 . a foothold in egypt in 1993 was followed by expansion into numerous african countries , before the entire african business was sold to another libyan company .
the decision to transform cremona into a modern logistics hub reflected the new reality : that it’s now competitive supply and storage logistics that determine market ranking and performance . after a round of vigorous cost - cutting , tamoil purchased 24 % of continentale , representing 14 . 4 % of sigemi - three tank farms connected by about 150km of pipelines , enabling a secure and modern logistics hub in the heart of italy’s industrial heartland - the po valley . this new capability helped in the negotiation of a number of long term supply contracts .
the group is present in several european countries and in all parts of the downstream oil industry , including : the supply and trading of crude oil and refined products ; shipping ; refining of crude oil ; storage and distribution ; marketing and retailing ; lubricants ; and bunkering . they operate refineries in italy ( cremona ) , and switzerland ( collombey ) . [ 2 ] in 2007 , tamoil owned more than 3 , 000 service stations in europe , mainly located in italy , as well as oil refineries in italy , switzerland , spain and germany . [ 3 ]
in a strategy consistent with the wider oilinvest group , tamoil sa plans to continue to increase its presence within the retail and wholesale sectors of the swiss market , where it currently has a network of 266 service stations , a sales volume of 1 . 2 million tons of petroleum products , a fully owned network of regional distributors , 12 tank farms and a total storage capacity of 1 . 3 million m3 . the company remains fully committed to its workforce and to serving its clients , partners and its other stakeholders in order to maintain a strong and vibrant presence in switzerland .
after acquiring the refinery during 1990 , tamoil sa carried out major developments to its technical infrastructure and introduced modern production techniques . by 2004 the construction of the refinery’s total residue conversion units was completed in a project that also included a catalytic cracking unit that converts residues into high value light products . the facility boasts some 90 storage tanks with a total combined capacity of 795 , 000 cubic metres for crude oil and products . the collombey refinery is one of only two refineries in switzerland and the only domestic refiner with its own branded retail network . the refinery is able to account for as much as 20 per cent of the total products inland sales in switzerland and has played a key role in the country’s oil sector .
“we have had the chance to develop very strong logistic assets all over switzerland . tamoil sa has access to pipeline infrastructure as well the tank farm in geneva . within the western part of the country we also have the use of several tank farms . we have obviously a strong position around the refinery , because there is no other logistics infrastructure in the area except our own , ” stéphane trachsler says . “in the german speaking part of the country we have tank farms in bern , basel , zurich and eastern switzerland and these logistics allow us to import easily product from various sources of supply . product is brought in either by pipeline or by barge on the river rhine to basel or directly by train arriving from germany or other regions via train directly to our inland tank farms . these strong logistic assets allow us to be competitive in all regions of switzerland . ”
oilinvest , a european refiner majority - owned by libya ' s national oil corporation , has long fought a battle on two fronts : battling falling margins and political revolution .
oilinvest , a european refiner majority - owned by libya ' s national oil corporation , has fought a battle on two fronts .
refineries have struggled in recent years to stay afloat on falling margins , particularly in europe . add to that a political revolution at home that led to a near shutdown of the industry supplying most of oilinvest ' s feedstock and raised the threat of sanctions .
one year later , the company has emerged intact and hopes to reinvent itself to start turning a profit , said fuad krekshi , the chairman of oilinvest .
we are reviewing our strategy and we ' re going through a process of restructuring the group ,
said mr krekshi on the sidelines of a conference in dubai .
the aim now is to change this company into a profit - making organisation .
libyan authorities bought the newly created company and expanded it to include 3 , 000 petrol stations and three refineries spanning germany , switzerland and italy , fuelling the growth with 250 , 000 barrels per day of sweet crude from the national oil corporation .
but european refiners struggled after the 2008 oil price spike to compete with newer mega - refineries on the us gulf coast , india and the middle east . oilinvest shut down its italian refinery . when last year ' s libyan uprising led western powers to target the gaddafi regime with sanctions and asset freezes , oilinvest created a foundation co - owned by the dutch government to shelter the company , said mr krekshi .
now the firm is back to its original structure of 70 per cent ownership by the national oil corporation and 30 per cent by other libyan government entities . it is evaluating how to cut costs and move away from refining to the more reliable retail sector .
the outlook in europe is improving but remains crowded , so oilinvest will concentrate an expansion in mediterranean africa , said mr krekshi .
europe was the most logical thing because of proximity , because of demand , because of trade relations ,
he said .
but today , competition in europe is quite diverse , so we are looking at various parts of the world . africa , the mediterranean region , is the most logical where it comes to proximity , so that ' s what we ' re focusing on .
the italian downstream market has been hallmarked by oversupply and inadequate demand for many years . the euro - crisis of 2011 brought things to a head . with demand at the pumps dropping significantly in those years , while pressure from low - cost producers in india and china increased , the decision was taken to cease refining at cremona , and re - orient the company to reflect the new competitive environment .
in retail , meanwhile , the company began rationalising its network , focusing attention and investment on improving large , owned , automated stations , while withdrawing from a number of smaller , unprofitable sites . various optimisation projects are in progress , to make these core stations among the best in the market : direct management , automation and micro - pricing , motorway optimisation , eni multicard acceptance and electronic coupon systems .
oilinvest ( netherlands ) b . v . wtc the hague prinses margrietplantsoen 92 2595 br the hague the netherlands telephone : + 31 70 205 9000
the group is now headquartered in the hague . through its portfolio of companies , the oilinvest group supplies , trades , refines and sells petroleum products in italy , germany , switzerland , spain and the netherlands , and has a trading operation based in cyprus .
historically oilinvest crude has been sourced primarily from the national oil corporation of libya . our affiliates now also trade and market crude and fuel products from suppliers and countries all around the world .
we thrive only through our business relationships . we work constantly to develop closer synergies between our affiliate companies , and to deliver a reliable , flexible and responsive service which offers clear benefits to our business partners .
we know that in a mature commodity industry , differentiation is hard to achieve : we place our trust in our people . by attracting the best , training them to optimise their capabilities , and helping them find the best possible place to capitalise on those capabilities , we maximise our productivity as an organisation , innovate more effectively , and ultimately deliver greater satisfaction to our customers .
and customer satisfaction is key . because it is only by delivering on our promises to customers wherever we operate that we can achieve the sustainable profitability that generates value to be put to the benefit of future generations .
the oilinvest group makes investments based on clearly defined commercial and strategic criteria . our goal is to achieve long - term growth , profitability and stability , through operational efficiencies , improved synergies , and careful and considered expansion of our geographical footprint and productive activities .
roger tamraz is an international banker and venture capital investor who has had an active international business career since the early 1960s .
mr . tamraz was born in cairo , egypt to lebanese parents , and grew up speaking fluent english , french and arabic .
his early schooling was at the prestigious english school in cairo . he subsequently attended the american university in cairo , a phd program at cambridge university , and the institut européen d’administration ( insead ) in fontainebleau , france . he concluded his education by earning an mba degree from harvard business school in 1966 . his classmates at harvard included many future leaders in western and international governments and businesses .
mr . tamraz served for many years as a member of the board of trustees of the american university in cairo , where he endowed a number of named scholarships for egyptian students of exceptional promise . mr . tamraz was nominated as governor of the central bank in 1988 .
played a key role in negotiations for the withdrawal of occupying foreign forces during the 1980s .
in the early 1990s , after the soviet union loosened its grip on central asia , netoil – through one of its companies : oil capital ltd . ( ocl ) inc . – was the originator of the 1 , 100 - mile baku - ceyhan pipeline project , which now moves one million barrels per day of caspian sea crude oil to the mediterranean sea and thus to world markets . netoil negotiated and signed the original pipeline right - of - way transit agreement with the government of turkey . this agreement was essential to the success of the project , which was eventually completed by bp after its purchase of amoco , with which netoil had been cooperating in the central asian area . during this period , netoil also acquired development rights and equity ownership positions in turkmenistan’s blocks i ( offshore ) and iii ( onshore ) two of that country’s major oil and gas producing properties . ( block i was later farmed out to malaysia’s petronas . ) these fields have reserves of 13 trillion cubic feet of gas and 700 million barrels of oil , with 1 , 400 working wells , and currently produce two billion cubic feet per day of natural gas .
in the early 1980s , netoil became 100 % owner of the meurice hotel group in paris , which owned the meurice , prince de galles and grand hotels , as well as the famed café de la paix . at the time , the 1 , 000 rooms of these three hotels comprised 25 % of all the luxury hotel rooms in paris . the properties were sold to grand metropolitan hotel corporation of london in the mid - 1980s .
intra investment company , one of the major sovereign wealth investment companies in the middle east , was created by netoil .
in 1976 , netoil moved into united states financial markets with its acquisition of bank of the commonwealth , a billion - dollar michigan - based bank with 50 branches . mr . tamraz was the chairman . netoil strengthened and expanded the bank until 1983 , when it was merged into the founding of comerica , inc . , now one of the largest super - regional u . s . bank holding companies . the merger made netoil the largest single shareholder in comerica , which currently has assets of $ 64 billion and a market capitalization of $ 5 . 6 billion .
mea is lebanon’s national flag carrier , and has been flying since the 1950s . mr . tamraz was the vice - chairman of the airline for a number of years , with special responsibility for its finances , banking relationships and aircraft purchases .
in the 1970s , netoil conceived , financed and built the well - known 200 - mile long suez – mediterranean ( sumed ) pipeline in egypt , a pipeline designed to run parallel to the blocked suez canal , which had been closed since the 1967 arab - israeli war . using bechtel corporation as prime contractor , the pipeline , comprised of two parallel 42 - inch lines , was opened in 1978 with a capacity of 1 . 6 million barrels per day . completion of an additional pumping station in 1994 increased capacity to its current 2 . 5 million barrels per day .
netoil conceived and financed the itochu - mitsubishi heavy industries chemical methanol plant project , the largest in the world , in jubail , saudi arabia , during the 1973 oil crisis . it continued subsequently for many years as strategic consultants to itochu senior management , especially on middle east energy operations . the methanol project included a five - year , 100 million barrel preferential crude oil supply contract for japan that was signed with the saudi government during the 1973 oil crisis .
netoil acquired ownership of cnc , the second - largest shipyard in france , in the early 1970s . this company was one of the early pioneers in the construction of lng vessels for oceangoing natural gas transport , and also specialized in submarines , patrol boats and other military platforms . in addition , the yard constructed very large crude carriers ( vlcc5 ) and conventional bulk cargo vessels for the civilian maritime industry .
netoil inc . is a private group of companies operating in trade and investment ventures worldwide with particular emphasis in the fields of energy and finance , had been in business internationally since the 1960s .
the current legal
netoil inc .
entity is an anguilla company formed on 4 september 2007 initially under the legal name of
middle east energy enterprises ltd .
, with an address for the purposes hereof at babrow’s commercial complex , po box 1341 , the valley , anguilla , anguilla , ai - 2640 . registration no . of the company is 2106992 .
dubai world trade center – sheikh zayed road – dubai , united arab emirates – p . o . box 9229
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oilinvest ( netherlands ) b . v . wtc the hague prinses margrietplantsoen 92 2595 br the hague the netherlands telephone : + 31 70 205 9000 website
the oilinvest group has distribution networks in germany , switzerland , italy , the netherlands and spain . some of its activities and sales outlets are also located on the african continent
new business model in switzerland based on the buying and selling of finished petroleum products .
responsibility , efficiency and profitability are the 3 pillars , which form the basis of our commitment and our operations in the petroleum industry .
our vision : generate a high performance standard and stay on pole position with the other actors of the swiss market .
throughout the last 15 years , our network of service stations has experienced a strong growth in switzerland . the sales have regularly increased as well as our market shares . today , the outcome achieved enables us to be one of the most important petroleum companies nationwide .
that’s why in switzerland , most of our sales outlets have a franchise agreement with major retail chains such as valora , restoshop and spar .
that it was stopping work at the site and letting go of 238 workers at the beginning of the year . hopes have not been high of saving the site .
“i am not exactly the red cross , nor i am really emotional about this company which even bears my name , but i simply believe , economically speaking , that this refinery could be profitable , ” said tamraz , speaking exclusively to urltoken on the phone from beijing , china , about his intentions about the refinery situated in the canton of valais , in the west of the country .
which produced 55 , 000 barrels - per - day , is one of only two oil refineries in switzerland ; the other is located at cressier , canton neuchâtel .
“i have taken the decision in the past 48 hours and i have just informed the valais authorities via my lawyer , ” the businessman said , in a change to his earlier stated intention not to buy the refinery or the 311 service stations which bear the logo .
“the important thing when running a refinery is to know how to buy your crude oil . if you buy it cheaply , you can’t lose . right at the moment the price is dropping and i can’t see it increasing anytime soon , ” tamraz explained , adding that he did not believe in the reason , financial losses , given for work stopping at the site , especially as for 25 years of its 30 year history , all had been going well .
, a sovereign fund created in 2006 , worth currently almost $ 70 billion .
the problem is that since the fall of ex - libyan leader moammar gaddafi in 2011 no one knows for sure who controls the lia , as there are two rival governments at play .
since march offers can be made to the company concerning the site , but none have yet been accepted .
for tamraz it’s a question of responsibility . around 20 % of all petroleum products consumed in switzerland arrive via pipelines passing from genoa along the rhône valley and end up collombey . there are thus no transport - related problems . like others in the region , tamraz says it is not good to lose this advantage .
canton valais on friday evening confirmed it had received the offer , according to the swiss news agency . it is not the only offer to buy , the two already put forward by the canton not having had any results .
the plan to stop work at the refinery was announced on january 13 this year due to financial considerations . a social plan for the employees was announced in may .
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the decision to interrupt refining operations at the 55 , 000 barrel - per - day refinery was taken in the face of increasingly challenging market conditions and a renewed focus on the wholesale and retail sectors of the swiss market . in recent years the swiss refining market has suffered severe market pressures , in line with the difficulties experienced by the wider european refining industry . the pressures experienced by the refining industry in europe can be attributed to higher imports of refined petroleum products , rapidly declining fuel demand and increasing regulatory costs .
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libya is a country located in northern africa that borders the mediterranean sea . until the 1950s , it was regarded as another poor african state , but the discovery of oil greatly increased its wealth , turning it into one of the richest african countries and also increasing its significance in the eyes of western powers . emerging from the colonial era , libya struggled with independence and experienced almost two decades of fragile stability as the united kingdom of libya from 1951 - 1969 . however , the september 1st revolution of 1969 saw colonel muammar gaddafi seize power in a bloodless coup d’état . gaddafi’s libya lasted over 40 years , though recent events have seen the dictator ousted and the ascendance of the constituent assembly - cum - parliament general national congress ( gnc )
benghazi was shaken last week by a massive car bombing , an event that was followed by hundreds of people taking to the streets to vent their frustration at a government that has not been able to fill the security vacuum opened by the removal of gaddafi . for a sense of where libyan politics are headed if the country’s present instability continues , one must look to the historical power centers , such as tripolitania and cyrenaica , as well as the geopolitical factors of bordering states and resource distribution . such factors may determine if libya eventually splits into two politically autonomous territories ; namely , tripolitania and cyrenaica .
gaddafi’s patronage network was structured around both security and the nation’s resources . given his own tribe’s small size , gaddafi had to compensate and thus used members of libya’s largest tribe , the warfalla , as security personnel . in addition , the zuwayya tribe in the oil - rich south would have had to be placated in various ways ( i . e . through being granted a privileged status in gaddafi’s patronage system ) due to their proximity to resources . this importance became clearer during anti - gaddafi protests , when zuwayya members threatened to withhold oil supply due to gaddafi’s violence against protestors . in addition , gaddafi’s treatment of protestors also cost him support of the warfallas , a major security loss .
geographically speaking , libya has three regions of significance to both political and agricultural stability . tripolitania and cyrenaica have historically been political rivals . both partnered with axis and allied powers respectively during the second world war . in addition , tension increased considerably post - independence when western powers supported the installation of king emir sayid idris , a cyrenaican , causing much bitterness in tripolitania . when gaddafi seized power in 1969 , feelings of bitterness and joy were reversed . mutual hostility has thus prevented a sense of national unity , further enforced by the geographical layout of the gulf of sirte , which creates physical distance between the two regions , symbolizing their mutual callousness and feelings of being more tripolitanian or cyrenaican than united libyans . finally , the region of fezzan holds some importance for its pastoral culture ( and thus minor agricultural capabilities ) .
however , fezzan’s agrarianism is not enough to feed libya’s population . as one critic explains , most of libya is composed of arid land , which cannot sustain plant life or the growth of crops . the coast is the only area with less dryness . however , waves from the mediterranean sea frequently deposit salt on the coast , killing plant life and preventing the possibility of agriculture . consequently , libya is forced to import food , and it is therefore vital that the production of their resources resume forthwith . it is likely that for long - term economic growth , resumption of resource production will not be enough . as resources such as oil and gas must be exported , political stability will be needed to convince foreign companies to invest in the libyan market .
as recently as 2005 , however , the libyan government changed the conditions of partnerships with international oil companies , limiting the profits such companies will receive . previously , oil companies had enjoyed profit shares of up to 49 % . under the 2005 changes , this share has been reduced by up to half , and in some cases , oil companies are only granted an extension of their license to explore and profit from libyan oil if they commit to further financial investment into the libyan oil sector . this shift in attitudes from prioritizing positive relations with international oil companies to reducing their profits so as to increase state shares reveals how libya now considers itself a well - established oil state ( thus granting it greater control over its share of oil profits ) . furthermore , the demands of reinvestment made on foreign oil companies illustrates how libya both recognizes the importance of exportation as an almost sole source of profit and the potential for increased oil wealth through further exploration . indeed , the latter likely explains why the state’s national oil company expects oil exploration to be undertaken by all oil companies operating in libya .