Roosh’s partner Sergey Kartashov (Sergejs Kartasovs): Review of Ukrainian AI and ML-based startups

Artificial intelligence and machine learning gain popularity and have become a worldwide trend. Using the ability to work with a massive amount of data in a cost-efficient way, IT developers boost projects based on these technologies. The Ukrainian IT sector moves with the times, and Ukrainian AI and ML startups are among the top-performing apps in AppStore and GooglePlay. Sergey Kartashov, the Senior Partner at technology company Roosh, speaks about Ukrainian IT industry development.

The scope of applications based on AI and ML technologies has been expanded. They are actively used in computer games and mobile app development, healthcare and medicine, education, and financial structures. During the pandemic, AI-based technologies were used widely, and World Health Organization declared that AI “could be an important technology to manage the crisis caused by the virus.” Machine learning has a great potential for developing diagnostic systems that detect various diseases.

According to Sergey Kartashov, AI projects received about 40% of the total investment in the IT industry in the previous year. Projects focused on education and medicine attracted investors. Drone development became another prioritized niche that obtains funding.

Ukrainian IT teams work on AI and ML technologies and develop promising projects based on them, as well. Sergey Kartashov lists a lot of national startups that succeeded over the past decade. They are Grammarly (cross-platform writing assistant that reviews texts), Scorto (a system used to deal with decision management and risk mitigation tasks), Viewdle acquired by Google Inc (technology for recognizing objects and faces on images). 

Roosh invests in different projects based on AI and ML. One of the most successful startups funded by Roosh is Reface, a mobile app that allows users to swap faces in videos. The app provoked a lot of interest and attention and quickly achieved top position in App Store. A year ago, it was at the same rank as such entertainment giants as TikTok, YouTube, and Netflix. According to the developers, they are updating the technology to allow users to watch movies or TV shows replacing main characters with their portraits.

Sergey Kartashov, Senior Partner at Roosh, says that developments based on artificial intelligence have already become a part of everyone’s life. Among the most usual, that surround people in daily life, he names text editors and search algorithms, chatbots and social media, fingerprint scanners and faces recognition in mobile devices, robotic vacuum cleaners, and e-payment systems.

Sergey Kartashov has no doubts that the future is already here, and Ukraine has a great potential to offer new projects based on AI and ML technologies. Such startups will continue the strong entry that the country has already started onto the world stage.