IT Investor and Entrepreneur Serhiy Tokarev Explains Why Investors Should Take a Closer Look at Healthtech Startups

Military aggression by Ukraine’s eastern neighbour forced the country’s healthcare system to rapidly seek unconventional solutions. As a result, Ukraine has become one of the largest healthtech markets in the world. Serhiy Tokarev—a Ukrainian IT investor, entrepreneur, and co-founder of the Roosh investment group—discussed this in an interview with Tech.eu.

How the War Has Impacted Ukraine’s Healthtech Market

During the full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s healthcare sector faced an unprecedented challenge: it had to treat the wounded quickly and effectively, manage logistics, and simplify patients’ access to doctors. Healthcare professionals, engineers, and startups actively worked to find practical solutions.

“Ukraine’s market already has a cohesive and effective startup ecosystem. In 2024, 10 startup rounds attracted $300 million in investment. Among the standout healthtech deals is Esper Bionics, which created a robotic arm that made Time magazine’s list of the 200 best inventions in 2022. In one of its rounds, Esper Bionics received $5 million from YZR Capital to develop the world’s first bionic ecosystem,” Tokarev notes.

According to him, the ecosystem is also supported by funds, incubators, and international programs, including Google for Startups, USAID, u.ventures, Horizon Capital, UVCA, and the Ukrainian Startup Fund.

Digitalization of Healthcare in Ukraine

Even before the full-scale invasion, healthcare digitalization was developing rapidly in Ukraine, and the outbreak of hostilities only accelerated this process. One example is the Helsi platform, which has around 29 million registered patients. Every day, it processes more than 200,000 doctor appointments.

Another digital innovation is Liki24. Even during wartime, the online medicine marketplace has shown that scaling is possible. While in 2023 the company’s share of revenue from the EU was 40%, today it is 70%. Total funding for the marketplace has already reached €19 million.

Which Areas Are Growing the Fastest

According to Serhiy Tokarev, the fastest-growing healthtech segments in Ukraine include rehabilitation and prosthetics, mental health, and data and logistics.

Experts estimate that due to active hostilities, the number of amputations could reach 20,000–50,000. That is why the development of prosthetics and rehabilitation is critically important. The same applies to mental health: nearly 10 million Ukrainians are considered at risk, including 1.4 million children.

The growth of data and logistics, in turn, is driven by the wider adoption of electronic medical records, AI-based diagnostics, and supply chain management systems.

“Solutions can be validated in extreme conditions in Ukraine — and they will work anywhere,” Tokarev adds.

What Could Interest Investors in Ukraine’s Healthtech Market

The entrepreneur is convinced that investors should take a closer look at innovations emerging from Ukraine’s domestic market. In his view, Ukraine is shaping a model for the future global healthcare system—digital, flexible, and capable of responding quickly to crises and large-scale challenges.

Ukraine’s healthtech market stands out because its development is not an option, but a necessity. It is a resilient sector with the capacity to scale rapidly.

FAQ: Understanding the Ukrainian Healthtech Opportunity

Why is Ukraine’s healthtech market unique for investors? Unlike other markets where innovation is driven by incremental improvements in convenience, Ukraine’s innovations are driven by necessity. This leads to faster development cycles and products that are highly durable and practical.

Is it safe to invest in Ukrainian startups during the conflict? Many Ukrainian startups operate with distributed teams, maintaining offices in the EU or the US while keeping R&D in Ukraine. This “hybrid” model protects the investment while benefiting from the high-level engineering talent available in Ukraine.

What role does AI play in this market? AI is the backbone of the most successful Ukrainian healthtech ventures. It is used in everything from bionic limb movement and diagnostic imaging to optimizing the delivery of medicines in war zones.

How does the government support these innovations? The Ukrainian government has fostered a “paperless” environment through initiatives like the Ukrainian Startup Fund and the Ministry of Digital Transformation. This reduces bureaucratic hurdles for healthtech companies looking to pilot new technologies.

Ukraine’s healthtech market stands out because its growth is not just a commercial goal—it is a national imperative. For investors, this creates a resilient sector with a rare capacity for rapid, meaningful scaling.