Mantis Analytics
AI platform for real-time monitoring of social networks for info threats and fakes
Website: https://mantisanalytics.com
Cover Block
PUBLIC
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Company Name | Mantis Analytics |
| Tagline | AI platform for real-time monitoring of social networks for info threats and fakes |
| Headquarters | Wilmington, DE |
| Founded | 2023 |
| Stage | Pre-Seed |
| Business Model | B2B |
| Industry | Defense / Govtech |
| Technology | AI / Machine Learning |
| Geography | Eastern Europe |
| Growth Profile | Venture Scale |
| Founding Team | Co-Founders (3+) |
| Funding Label | Pre-seed |
| Total Disclosed Funding | ~$105,000 (estimated) |
Links
PUBLIC
- Website: https://mantisanalytics.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mantisanalytics/
Executive Summary
PUBLIC
Mantis Analytics is an early-stage Ukrainian startup building an AI platform to monitor and analyze social networks and media for real-time detection of information threats, a product born directly from the exigencies of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The company's immediate wedge is its partnership with the Ukrainian government, including the National Security and Defense Council, where it actively monitors the Russian information environment [Vestbee, Mar 2024]. This focus on a high-stakes, immediate problem gives the venture a clear initial use case, though it also defines a narrow market.
Founded in 2023, the company is led by a trio of Ukrainian co-founders: CEO Maksym Tereshchenko, CTO Ostap Vykhopen, and CMO Anton Tarasyuk, who brings specific expertise in strategic communications and influence operations [Crunchbase]. Their platform aggregates and processes data from social networks, media, and messengers to provide analytics on disinformation and threats [Vestbee, Mar 2024]. More recent public messaging suggests an expansion of the product's positioning into supply chain risk monitoring and scenario simulation, indicating a strategic pivot or broadening of scope [Facebook mantisanalytics page, 2026].
To date, the company has raised a small pre-seed round of $50,000 led by ZAS Ventures, supplemented by a $25,000 grant from the Ukrainian defense tech cluster Brave1 and accelerator funding from Alchemist Accelerator [Vestbee, Mar 2024] [AIN, Mar 2024]. The business model is B2B, targeting government and potentially commercial clients for supply chain intelligence. Over the next 12-18 months, the critical watchpoints are the validation of its expanded supply chain thesis beyond its Ukrainian government anchor, evidence of commercial traction in Western markets, and the team's ability to secure a substantive seed round to scale.
Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Key claims are sourced from Ukrainian tech press and company materials; some team and product details lack independent corroboration.
Taxonomy Snapshot
| Axis | Classification |
|---|---|
| Stage | Pre-Seed |
| Business Model | B2B |
| Industry / Vertical | Defense / Govtech |
| Technology Type | AI / Machine Learning |
| Geography | Eastern Europe |
| Growth Profile | Venture Scale |
| Founding Team | Co-Founders (3+) |
| Funding | Pre-seed (total disclosed ~$50,000) |
Company Overview
PUBLIC
Mantis Analytics was founded in 2023, emerging from the immediate operational needs of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The company, incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware, is built by a team based in Lviv, Ukraine, focused on applying AI to monitor and analyze the information environment [Vestbee, Mar 2024]. Its early development was supported by a $25,000 grant from Brave1, a Ukrainian defense tech cluster, in 2023 [AIN, Mar 2024].
Key milestones followed in quick succession. In December 2023, the company closed a $50,000 pre-seed round led by Kyiv and San Francisco-based ZAS Ventures [Vestbee, Mar 2024]. By early 2024, it had secured a partnership with the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, a significant early validation of its technology for government use [Vestbee, Mar 2024]. The company later joined the Alchemist Accelerator in April 2024, receiving $30,000 in funding and indicating a strategic push for international, particularly U.S., market development [Vestbee/AIN, Apr 2024].
Subsequent activities point to a broadening of scope and recognition. Mantis Analytics was named a 2025 Red Hot Dual-use Company by DCA Live and participated in events like the Phoenix Challenge in London and GSX 2025 in the United States [Facebook mantisanalytics post, 2025] [LinkedIn Ostap Vykhopen profile, 2026]. The team also conducted a geopolitics simulation study with the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, suggesting an expansion of its analytical work beyond real-time monitoring [LinkedIn Maksym Tereshchenko, 2026].
Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Key dates and funding amounts are reported by Ukrainian tech press; entity and partnership details are partially corroborated by social media and founder profiles.
Product and Technology
MIXED Mantis Analytics presents a product narrative that has evolved from a specific defense application to a broader commercial proposition. The initial public-facing description, reported in 2023 and 2024, centered on an AI platform for real-time monitoring of social networks, media, and messengers to detect informational threats and fakes, with a specific focus on the Russian information environment [Vestbee, Mar 2024] [AIN, 2023]. According to a 2024 press report, the company stated that 80% of its analytical reports for Ukrainian government partners were accepted without changes, suggesting an operational workflow [Odessa Journal/Vestbee/AIN, 2024].
More recent public materials, including the company's Facebook page and founder profiles from 2025 and 2026, describe a platform that combines real-time global incident monitoring with AI-driven scenario simulations for supply chain continuity [Facebook mantisanalytics page, 2026] [pitch.vc, 2026]. The product is framed as an "AI intelligence platform for supply chains to expose risks, simulate scenarios, secure continuity" [PUBLIC]. This indicates a strategic pivot or expansion from counter-disinformation into the adjacent, larger market of supply chain risk intelligence.
The core technological capability appears to be a data aggregation and processing engine for unstructured, public-source information, paired with simulation software. The stack is not detailed, but the consistent labeling as an "AI and Big Data platform" implies significant backend data engineering and likely the application of NLP models for analysis [Vestbee, Mar 2024]. A 2026 post from the CEO noted the company conducted a geopolitics simulation study with the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, providing a tangible, if non-commercial, example of its scenario modeling output [LinkedIn Maksym Tereshchenko, 2026] [PUBLIC].
Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Product claims are sourced from press and company social media, but lack independent technical validation or detailed customer case studies.
Market Research
MIXED The market for AI-driven information and supply chain monitoring is being defined by overlapping geopolitical instability and enterprise risk management needs, creating a nascent but urgent demand for predictive intelligence platforms.
Quantifying the total addressable market for a dual-use platform like Mantis Analytics is challenging, as it sits at the intersection of several established and emerging sectors. The company's public positioning points to two primary, adjacent markets: the global market for open-source intelligence (OSINT) and social media monitoring, and the market for supply chain risk management (SCRM) software. The OSINT and social media monitoring market was valued at approximately $6.5 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to over $21 billion by 2030, according to a Grand View Research report cited by other industry coverage [Grand View Research, 2023]. The SCRM software market is larger, with one report from MarketsandMarkets estimating it at $2.2 billion in 2024 and growing to $4.5 billion by 2029 [MarketsandMarkets, 2024]. These figures are for analogous, broader markets and do not represent a direct sizing for Mantis's specific defense-focused wedge.
The primary demand driver cited for Mantis's initial product is the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has underscored the strategic vulnerability created by information warfare and the need for real-time, automated monitoring of adversarial narratives [Vestbee, Mar 2024]. This specific geopolitical tailwind is powerful but geographically concentrated. A broader, secular tailwind is the enterprise shift towards predictive, AI-powered risk management. Companies are increasingly seeking to model disruptions across complex, global supply chains, a need highlighted by recent geopolitical tensions and climate-related events. Mantis's later messaging on its Facebook page and website pivots to address this broader commercial need, describing an AI platform for supply chain visibility and continuity [Facebook mantisanalytics page, 2026].
Key adjacent markets that serve as both potential expansion paths and competitive substitutes include traditional threat intelligence platforms (e.g., Recorded Future, Flashpoint), broader risk and compliance software suites, and general-purpose business intelligence tools. The regulatory environment is a double-edged sword. In defense and government contracting, stringent procurement processes and data sovereignty requirements create high barriers to entry but also defensibility for incumbents. For commercial supply chain applications, evolving regulations around forced labor disclosure (e.g., the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in the U.S.) and supply chain due diligence (e.g., the EU's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive) are creating compliance-driven demand for deeper supplier visibility.
OSINT & Social Media Monitoring (2023) | 6.5 | $B
Supply Chain Risk Software (2024) | 2.2 | $B
The available market sizing data, while not specific to Mantis's offering, illustrates the substantial commercial pools adjacent to its technology. The nearly 3x growth projected for OSINT tools signals institutional recognition of information as a critical domain, while the steady expansion of the SCRM market confirms a durable enterprise need for resilience. Mantis's bet appears to be that its AI models, trained initially on a high-stakes, information-dense conflict zone, can be repurposed to address these larger, commercial risk management budgets.
Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Market sizing figures are from third-party analyst reports for analogous sectors, not the company's specific niche. Tailwind analysis is supported by cited press and company messaging.
Competitive Landscape
MIXED Mantis Analytics occupies a narrow but defined position at the intersection of AI-driven information operations monitoring and defense supply chain simulation, a space with few direct, mature competitors but many adjacent players. The company's initial wedge is its focus on the Russian information environment, a specialization born from its Ukrainian founding team and early government partnerships.
No direct, named competitors were surfaced in the available sources. The competitive map, therefore, must be drawn from adjacent categories. The landscape can be segmented into three broad groups.
- Incumbent intelligence platforms. Large defense contractors and intelligence software providers (e.g., Palantir, BAE Systems) offer broad situational awareness suites that can include media monitoring. These are high-cost, long-sales-cycle platforms designed for large government agencies, not for rapid deployment against a specific, evolving information threat.
- Challenger OSINT startups. A growing category of commercial open-source intelligence (OSINT) tools (e.g., Primer, Blackbird.AI, Fivecast) provide social media and news monitoring for corporate risk and security teams. Their focus is typically on brand safety, financial crime, or physical threat detection, not on modeling adversarial influence campaigns within a specific geopolitical context.
- Adjacent supply chain simulators. A separate market exists for supply chain risk and simulation software (e.g., Resilinc, Everstream Analytics). These platforms map supplier networks and model disruptions from natural disasters or logistics failures, but they do not integrate real-time monitoring of information operations as a primary risk vector.
Mantis's defensible edge today appears to be its proprietary data and contextual expertise, not its core technology. The platform's reported utility to the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine suggests it has built a tuned model on a specific, hard-to-access dataset: the Russian-language information ecosystem [Vestbee, Mar 2024]. This data edge is coupled with the team's subject-matter expertise, as evidenced by co-founder Anton Tarasyuk's public commentary on AI in the Russia-Ukraine conflict [Global Voices, Oct 2023]. In the short term, this combination of niche data and applied context is perishable; it is a time-bound advantage tied to the current conflict and the team's direct access. It is not a durable moat built on patented algorithms or exclusive contracts that would prevent a well-funded OSINT challenger from developing a similar capability for other regions.
The company's most significant exposure is its narrow market focus and dependency. By concentrating on monitoring the Russian information space for Ukrainian government clients, Mantis has limited its addressable market and created a single-point dependency on the continuation of that specific mission and funding source. A competitor like Blackbird.AI, which serves global corporations and multiple governments, could decide to build a "Ukraine/Russia module" and use its existing sales channels and broader platform to compete directly, eroding Mantis's wedge. Furthermore, Mantis lacks the capital advantage of later-stage players, with only ~$105,000 in total disclosed funding [Vestbee, Mar 2024] [AIN, Mar 2024], limiting its ability to outpace incumbents in R&D or sales expansion.
The most plausible 18-month scenario is one of continued niche specialization or attempted, challenging pivot. The winner in this scenario is a company like Mantis if it can successfully translate its proven capability in Ukraine into a repeatable, productized offering for other governments facing similar hybrid threats (e.g., in the Baltics or Taiwan). The loser is Mantis if it remains a conflict-specific tool and the geopolitical focus shifts, or if a better-funded adjacent player (like a supply chain simulator) decides that integrating information ops data is a critical feature and builds it in-house, making Mantis's standalone platform redundant. The company's participation in events like GSX 2025 and its recognition as a Red Hot Dual-use Company [Facebook mantisanalytics post, 2025] suggest an active effort to broaden its appeal beyond its initial wedge, but the traction of that effort is not yet publicly measurable.
Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Competitive analysis is inferred from adjacent market segments and company positioning; no direct competitors were named in captured sources.
Opportunity
PUBLIC The prize for Mantis Analytics is a position as the default intelligence layer for governments and corporations navigating complex, multi-domain threats, a role that could command significant enterprise value in a market where geopolitical risk is a permanent board-level concern.
The headline opportunity for Mantis Analytics is to become the category-defining platform for integrated threat intelligence, moving beyond a narrow focus on information operations to provide a unified view of supply chain, cyber, and geopolitical risks. The company's early wedge, partnering with the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine to monitor the Russian information environment, provides a live, high-stakes proving ground for its AI-driven monitoring and simulation capabilities [Vestbee, Mar 2024]. This is not an academic exercise. The cited claim that 80% of its reports are accepted by government partners without changes suggests a product that meets the stringent, operational needs of its initial, demanding customer segment [Odessa Journal/Vestbee/AIN, 2024]. If the platform can successfully abstract the underlying AI and data processing engine to model other domains, such as supply chain continuity, as indicated by its own marketing [Facebook mantisanalytics page, 2026], it could evolve from a conflict-specific tool into a general-purpose risk simulation engine for enterprises and allied governments.
The path to that outcome hinges on which of several plausible growth scenarios materializes first. The company's activities and partnerships point toward three distinct, concrete scaling routes.
| Scenario | What happens | Catalyst | Why it's plausible |
|---|---|---|---|
| NATO-Adjacent Standard | Mantis becomes a preferred vendor for intelligence support to NATO allies and partner governments. | A formal procurement or pilot program with a member state's defense or interior ministry. | The company has already conducted a geopolitics simulation study with the Washington-based New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, demonstrating engagement with Western policy circles [LinkedIn Maksym Tereshchenko, 2026]. Its selection for the Phoenix Challenge in London and recognition as a Red Hot Dual-use Company further signal credibility in defense-tech networks [Facebook mantisanalytics post, 2025]. |
| Enterprise Supply Chain Module | The platform's simulation capabilities are productized as a SaaS offering for Fortune 500 risk and logistics teams. | A launch of a dedicated, commercial supply chain risk product, separate from its government-focused intelligence dashboard. | Company descriptions from 2026 explicitly frame the product as an "AI intelligence platform for supply chains to expose risks, simulate scenarios, secure continuity" [Facebook mantisanalytics page, 2026]. Investor Nezlamni's backing is specifically noted as being for accelerating US market entry [Vestbee, Mar 2024], indicating a commercial expansion strategy is funded and underway. |
| Acquisition by a Major Defense Prime | The company is acquired for its talent, proprietary data pipelines, and Ukraine-proven technology. | A deepening of the Russia-Ukraine conflict or a similar geopolitical flashpoint that increases demand for its niche capabilities. | The team's deep, contextual expertise in monitoring the Russian information space is a rare and currently high-value asset. The presence of investors like ZAS Ventures and Brave1, which have ties to both Ukrainian tech and broader venture networks, creates a potential conduit for strategic conversations [Vestbee, Mar 2024] [AIN, Mar 2024]. |
Compounding for Mantis Analytics would manifest as a data and credibility flywheel. Each new government partnership, particularly with intelligence or security agencies, would grant access to unique, closed data sources and threat signatures. This proprietary data would improve the accuracy and granularity of its AI models for monitoring and simulation. In turn, more accurate models would make the platform more valuable to the next, larger government or commercial client, who would then contribute further data or use-case refinement. Early signs of this dynamic are suggested by the government partnership feedback loop, where high report acceptance rates imply the product is learning and adapting to user needs [Odessa Journal/Vestbee/AIN, 2024]. A successful expansion into commercial supply chain risk would create a second, complementary data stream on global logistics and trade flows, potentially creating a cross-domain intelligence advantage.
Quantifying the size of the win is challenging without public comparables in the niche field of AI-driven information threat monitoring. However, looking at the broader defense-tech and geopolitical risk intelligence landscape provides directional markers. Companies like Primer (a natural language processing platform for intelligence) and Recorded Future (a threat intelligence provider) have reached valuations in the hundreds of millions to billions of dollars, with the latter being acquired by Insight Partners in a transaction valued at $780 million in 2019. If Mantis Analytics successfully executes on the NATO-Adjacent Standard scenario and captures a role as a specialized provider to several allied governments, a valuation in the low hundreds of millions is a plausible outcome (scenario, not a forecast). The Acquisition by a Major Defense Prime scenario might realize a lower absolute figure but could provide a faster, high-multiple return on the minimal capital invested to date.
Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Growth scenarios are extrapolated from cited partnerships and company descriptions; specific catalysts and valuation comparables are not confirmed by the company.
Sources
PUBLIC
[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
[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/
[Crunchbase] Mantis Analytics - Crunchbase Company Profile & Funding | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mantis-analytics
[Facebook mantisanalytics page, 2026] Mantis Analytics Facebook Page | https://www.facebook.com/mantisanalytics
[Vestbee/AIN, Apr 2024] Mantis Analytics joins Alchemist Accelerator | https://vestbee.com/insights/articles/ukrainian-ai-startup-mantis-analytics-secures-50k-from-zas-ventures
[Odessa Journal/Vestbee/AIN, 2024] Mantis Analytics partners with Ukrainian government agencies | https://vestbee.com/insights/articles/ukrainian-ai-startup-mantis-analytics-secures-50k-from-zas-ventures
[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/
[LinkedIn Ostap Vykhopen profile, 2026] Ostap Vykhopen LinkedIn Profile | https://www.linkedin.com/in/ostap-vykhopen/
[LinkedIn Maksym Tereshchenko, 2026] Maksym Tereshchenko LinkedIn Profile | https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxter/
[Facebook mantisanalytics post, 2025] Mantis Analytics named 2025 Red Hot Dual-use Company | https://www.facebook.com/mantisanalytics
[pitch.vc, 2026] Mantis Analytics pitch deck description | https://pitch.vc/company/mantis-analytics
[Grand View Research, 2023] Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) Market Size Report | https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/open-source-intelligence-osint-market
[MarketsandMarkets, 2024] Supply Chain Risk Management Market Report | https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/supply-chain-risk-management-market-137632213.html
Articles about Mantis Analytics
- Mantis Analytics Is Monitoring the Russian Information Environment for the Ukrainian Government — The Lviv-based startup, backed by ZAS Ventures and a defense tech cluster, uses AI to detect fakes and influence operations in real time.