Ukraine’s Osavul raises $1 million to fight the war on disinformation

When Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine suddenly the internet was rife with disinformation about what was really happening in Eastern Europe. Ukrainian AI specialists Dmytro Pleshakov and Dmytro Bilash kicked into action to defend the reputation of their country, developing a solution to curtail the spread of disinformation - and so Osavul was born.

The Ukrainian AI company has just raised $1 million in Seed funding from the SMRK venture fund. Funds will go towards the marketing and development of the platform as the company scouts for engineering talent to join the team. 

The platform focuses on the integration of Large Language Models technologies - efficiently finding and analysing information, as well as 'timely finding and neutralising threats'. Osavul aims to expand its products to international markets and cooperate with foreign companies and government organisations.

Osavul software was implemented and used by the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine and by Ukrainian departments in the security and defence sector - giving the founders the catalyst to grow their solution into a business to offer public and private organisations the opportunity to build resistance to disinformation.

"Osavul arose as a response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The world faced a powerful wave of propaganda and narratives discrediting Ukrainians and their struggle. In recent years, we have seen the rapid development of AI due to the emergence of Large Language Models, such as ChatGPT. New technologies make it easier to create and distribute any kind of content – both textual and visual – thus increasing the risk of spreading misinformation. Therefore, state institutions and companies need new powerful technologies to more effectively counter threats related to disinformation," says Dmytro Pleshakov, co-founder and CEO of Osavul.

"Osavul is founded by an exceptional team with a deep understanding of AI technology from both engineering and business perspectives," says Vlad Tislenko, partner at SMRK VC. "We are honoured to take part in their new endeavour."