A Ukrainian startup forged by war is bringing counter-disinformation to the business world.
Osavul was founded in 2022 to fight Russian propaganda.
To analyse the threats, the company appliedAIanalytics to the information landscape.
The startup surveys open-source data from social media, websites, and messaging apps.
It then identifies harmful narratives and the sources spreading them.
The narratives have diverse forms.
Osavul has detectedfake news videosplastered with BBC logos,racial slurshidden by slang, andgenerative AIamplifying Russian propaganda.
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So have NATO and the UK.
But Osavul is also seeking private sector clients.
Russian politicians have accused Coca-Colaof buying organs harvested from Ukrainian orphans.
Social media posts have spreadfake reportsof banks restricting withdrawals.
Viral TikTok videos haveclaimedDisney World is lobbying to lower the legal drinking age.
Such attacks can damage reputations and disrupt operations.
They can also cause immense financial losses.
Analyst firm Gartner expects the costs to skyrocket.
Osavul aims to mitigate the risks.
Clients can then develop a response plan.
That could mean a counter-messaging campaign, a complaint to social media platforms, or even litigation.
Osavuls ambitions have been bolstered by a new $3mn funding round.
Announced today, the seed investment will support theexpansioninto the B2B segment.
The round was led by three European investors: 42CAP, u.ventures, and SMRK.
Osavul is already the industry-leadingstartupin the EU in its sector, said Alex Meyer, general partner at 42CAP.
It is driven to scale its opportunities to the US market and offer new opportunities for the business sector.
Bilash believes the market will rapidly expand.
As AI reduces the costs of disinformation campaigns, he expects a surge in attacks on businesses.
Story byThomas Macaulay
Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he e(show all)Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he enjoys playing chess (badly) and the guitar (even worse).
