Mantis Analytics Is Monitoring the Russian Information Environment for the Ukrainian Government

The screen is a map of narratives, a heatmap of influence. A line graph spikes where a new video about a frontline city begins to circulate across Telegram channels. A cluster of accounts, flagged in orange, begins amplifying a claim about grain shipments. For a user at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, this is not a social media dashboard. It is a real-time monitor for a war being fought, in part, with information [Vestbee, Mar 2024]. This is the interface of Mantis Analytics, an AI platform built in Lviv to listen to the noise of social networks, media, and messengers, and surface the signal of coordinated threats.

Founded in 2023, Mantis Analytics operates from a simple, urgent premise: in modern conflict, the information space is a battlespace. The company’s AI and big data platform processes this environment to provide analytics on fakes and influence operations, with a primary focus on monitoring the Russian information environment [Vestbee, Mar 2024]. It is a product born of necessity, its first and most critical customer being the Ukrainian state itself. The company reports that 80% of its analytical reports to government partners are accepted without additional changes [Odessa Journal/Vestbee/AIN, 2024].

A wedge in defense tech

Mantis Analytics did not emerge from a generic startup incubator dreaming of a global SaaS play. Its founding is a direct response to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, positioning its technology as a piece of essential defense infrastructure. The wedge is specificity. While broader social listening platforms track brand sentiment or viral trends, Mantis is tuned for the patterns of information warfare: coordinated inauthentic behavior, rapid dissemination of fabricated content, and the strategic seeding of narratives. This focus has secured its initial beachhead, partnering with multiple Ukrainian government agencies, including the National Security and Defense Council [Vestbee, Mar 2024]. The product is not just a tool for analysis but for decision-making, aiming to shorten the time between a disinformation campaign’s launch and a government’s calibrated response.

The team built for the task

The founders bring a blend of technical and strategic communications expertise that aligns with the problem’s dual nature. CEO Maksym Tereshchenko has over a decade of experience building software products and startups [Crunchbase, 2024]. Co-founder Anton Tarasyuk, the CMO, brings eight years in strategic communications and influence operations, and has been cited as a data and AI expert on the role of technology in the Russia-Ukraine conflict [Crunchbase, 2024] [Global Voices, Oct 2023]. CTO Ostap Vykhopen rounds out the technical leadership. The team’s depth is evidenced by its participation in events like the Global Security Exchange (GSX) 2025 and the Phoenix Challenge in London, and its designation as a 2025 Red Hot Dual-use Company by DCA Live [LinkedIn, 2026] [Facebook, 2025].

Funding a sovereign capability

The company’s early backing reflects its geopolitical and technological positioning. It is not just venture capital betting on a market, but a mix of capital building a sovereign capability.

Pre-seed (ZAS Ventures) | 50 | K USD
Grant (Brave1 cluster) | 25 | K USD
Accelerator (Alchemist) | 30 | K USD

The pre-seed round of $50,000 was led by ZAS Ventures, a Kyiv and San Francisco-based fund actively investing in the Ukrainian founder diaspora [Vestbee, Mar 2024]. An earlier $25,000 grant came from Brave1, a Ukrainian defense tech cluster launched by the government [AIN, Mar 2024]. The company also completed the Alchemist Accelerator program, adding another $30,000 to its treasury [Vestbee/AIN, Apr 2024]. Other backers include the Nezlamni fund, backed by the founders of Ukrainian ride-hailing giant Uklon, and angels like San Francisco entrepreneur Andrew Zinchuk. This capital mix, part venture, part defense grant, part accelerator, underscores the hybrid nature of the startup itself.

The pivot to supply chains

A more recent, intriguing evolution of the platform suggests an ambition beyond the immediate theater of war. Company descriptions from 2025 and 2026 begin mentioning a focus on supply chain risk. The platform is described as providing "visibility of supply chains and simulat[ing] scenarios across partners, routes, and policies to ensure continuity" [mantisanalytics.com, 2026]. Another source pitches it as combining "real-time global incident monitoring with AI-driven scenario simulations for supply chains" [pitch.vc, 2026]. This represents a potential second act, leveraging the same core competency in monitoring disparate data sources and assessing risk, but applying it to the commercial world of logistics and trade. It is a logical, if challenging, expansion from a defense-centric product to a commercial enterprise tool.

The risks of a foundational customer

The company’s greatest strength is also its most prominent risk. Its deep integration with and dependency on the Ukrainian government creates a concentrated customer base. The bet on supply chain monitoring is an explicit attempt to diversify, but it remains unproven. The competitive landscape in commercial supply chain risk is crowded with well-funded incumbents. Furthermore, the company’s public traction is measured in partnerships and grant acceptances, not in disclosed revenue figures or enterprise contract values. Scaling a product built for the unique pressures of a hot war to meet the compliance and integration demands of Fortune 500 supply chain offices is a formidable leap.

The company’s answer likely lies in the unique dataset and AI models forged in a high-stakes environment. The thinking goes: if your system can identify a coordinated propaganda attack in real time, it can certainly flag a port closure or a sanctions risk. The team has begun laying groundwork for this shift, conducting a geopolitics simulation study with the Washington-based New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy [LinkedIn, 2026].

What to watch in Wilmington and Lviv

The next twelve months will test whether Mantis Analytics can execute its expansion thesis. Key milestones to watch include:

• The first non-government contract. A signed commercial deal for its supply chain monitoring product would validate the expansion beyond its defense roots.
• A priced seed round. The ~$105,000 in total disclosed funding to date is angel-scale. A larger, institutional seed round would signal investor belief in the dual-use model and fund a dedicated sales push.
• Strategic hires in the US. With a headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, building a commercial go-to-market team stateside would be a clear indicator of intent.

The cultural question Mantis Analytics is implicitly answering is not about the future of work or social connection. It is about trust, and who gets to define reality in a digitally mediated world. In an age where narratives are weaponized, the startup is betting that the market, first governments, then enterprises, will pay for a system that tries to separate the signal from the weaponized noise. Its journey from tracking Russian fakes for Kyiv to simulating supply chain shocks for global trade is a story about whether the tools of information defense can become the tools of commercial resilience.

Sources

1. [Vestbee, Mar 2024] Ukrainian AI startup Mantis Analytics secures $50k from ZAS Ventures | https://vestbee.com/insights/articles/ukrainian-ai-startup-mantis-analytics-secures-50k-from-zas-ventures
2. [AIN, Mar 2024] Ukrainian-made AI platform Mantis Analytics detects Russian fakes in the news | https://en.ain.ua/2023/09/15/ukrainian-mantis-analytics-detects-russian-fakes/
3. [Crunchbase, 2024] Mantis Analytics - Crunchbase Company Profile & Funding | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mantis-analytics
4. [Global Voices, Oct 2023] The role of AI in Russia's invasion of Ukraine: Interview with expert Anton Tarasyuk | https://globalvoices.org/2023/10/13/the-role-of-ai-in-russias-invasion-of-ukraine-interview-with-expert-anton-tarasyuk/
5. [LinkedIn, 2026] Ostap Vykhopen - LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/ostap-vykhopen/
6. [Facebook, 2025] Mantis Analytics Facebook post on Red Hot Dual-use Company award | https://www.facebook.com/mantisanalytics
7. [mantisanalytics.com, 2026] Company website description | https://mantisanalytics.com
8. [pitch.vc, 2026] Pitch profile description | https://pitch.vc
9. [Odessa Journal/Vestbee/AIN, 2024] Coverage on government partnership acceptance rate | Referenced in Vestbee article
10. [Information Professionals Association, Unknown] The Cognitive Crucible podcast featuring Maksym Tereshchenko | https://www.informationprofessionals.org/the-cognitive-crucible