LetsData, a Ukrainian developer of AI solutions for protection against information operations and disinformation, has raised $1.6 million in a pre-seed investment round. The capital came from SMOK Ventures, Wayra, Tilia Impact Ventures, 1991 Ventures, Google's Ukraine Support Fund, and Startup Wise Guys.

Serial entrepreneurs Pavla Bobosikova and Marty Krátký-Katz also joined the group of angel investors in the round. SMOK Ventures shared the details with AIN.

About LetsData

  • LetsData was founded in 2022 by Andriy Kusyy and Ksenia Iliuk. Before founding the company, Andriy worked in the field of artificial intelligence, including leading the machine learning platform at Grammarly. Ksenia researched information operations, for example, leading the analytical center at Detector Media and helping various governments build their monitoring capabilities.
  • They met in London eight years ago at the LEAD program for talented Ukrainians, and this acquaintance became the basis for a future partnership.
  • The idea for creating LetsData arose in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"It was a "now or never" moment: the need to scale our impact became apparent when we were given the extremely urgent task of tracking information operations against Ukraine in 36 countries for Ukrainian government agencies. We knew we had to build a product that would help effectively counter these threats by providing both governments and corporations with advanced tools for early detection of information operations."

The startup provides AI-based solutions to protect businesses and governments from information operations and disinformation. LetsData says its AI model processes open-source data from more than 100 million websites and social networks, covering more than 50 languages and regions. It also analyzes text and video metadata from media on Telegram, YouTube and TikTok.

"LetsData’s mission is to integrate actionable threat intelligence into organizations’ workflows, empowering them to mitigate risks before reputational damage, cyberattack or operational disruption occurs. The tool is already gaining traction among governments, financial institutions, and private enterprises seeking robust InfoOps management," the press release states.

Investment details

The fresh capital came from SMOK Ventures, Wayra (part of Telefónica), Tilia Impact Ventures (backed by InvestEU Fund), 1991 Ventures, Google's Ukraine Support Fund, and Startup Wise Guys. 

Serial entrepreneurs Pavla Bobosikova (CEO and co-founder of WFHomie, acquired by GoCo) and Marty Krátký-Katz (CEO and co-founder of Blockthrough, acquired by eyeo) also joined the round as angel investors.

"Having reached $1 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) after two successful years of operation without external funding, LetsData plans to use the new round of investment to further scale its technology and expand its presence in the United States and Europe to meet growing demand," LetsData said in a comment.

AIN reminds our readers that during the Lviv IT Arena Google announced the second wave of startups that will receive funding up to $100,000 as part of the Google for Startups Ukraine Support Fund initiative. LetsData was included in the list.