Market Conditions for AI HealthTech Startups: A Comparative Analysis of Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States

Purpose. This study examines how national innovation ecosystems shape AI HealthTech startups across Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States, revealing that seemingly disadvantageous conditions can catalyse unexpected innovation and that cultural differences shape distinct innovation trajectories. Design / Method / Approach. An adapted Porter’s Diamond Model is applied to the AI HealthTech sector via quantitative and qualitative analysis. Factor conditions are scored through a composite index of four dimensions: AI Talent Availability, Healthcare Data Access, Computing Infrastructure, and Funding Availability, operationalized via verified international databases, classified by GRADE. Findings. Each country has developed a unique AI HealthTech approach. The three ecosystems show striking complementarity: Ukraine excels in technical talent; the UK offers exceptional clinical validation and centralised healthcare data; the US provides unmatched commercial scaling. Theoretical Implications. The study extends Porter’s Diamond Model to AI HealthTech, demonstrating how competitive advantage frameworks must account for digital affordances, data access, and regulatory dynamics. Practical Implications. Policymakers should develop transnational innovation corridors connecting Ukrainian technical talent with UK clinical validation and US scaling capabilities. Startup founders should invest in trust-building and adaptive market entry strategies. Originality / Value. This analysis offers a structured comparative examination of market conditions shaping AI HealthTech startups across three distinct national contexts through the lens of an adapted Diamond Model. It introduces a reproducible GRADE-based composite index grounding scores in verified evidence, offering actionable insights into how market structures shape startup behaviour. Research Limitations / Future Research. The study relies primarily on secondary data; future research should include primary data from founders and investors and cross-border studies across multiple ecosystems. Article Type. Analytical article.