---
id: "action-partner-local-startups"
type: "action-item"
source_timestamps: ["§ How to Develop a Country-Level AI Strategy"]
tags: ["partnerships", "ecosystems"]
related: ["concept-country-level-ai-ecosystem", "concept-localized-ai-execution"]
action: "Form partnerships with local startups, universities, and civic groups when entering a new national AI market."
outcome: "Faster market integration, access to local talent, and improved cultural fit for AI products."
speakers: ["Yasuhiro Yamakawa", "Thomas H. Davenport"]
sources: ["futures"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-futures"
originDay: 2
articleStem: "hbr-cl-94-ai-strategy-beyond-us-china"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2025/12/your-ai-strategy-needs-to-expand-beyond-the-u-s-and-china"
sourceTitle: "Your AI Strategy Needs to Expand Beyond the U.S. and China"
---
# Partner with local startups and civic groups

**Action:** Form partnerships with local startups, universities, and civic groups when entering a new national AI market.

**Do this:** When entering a new national AI ecosystem, do not attempt to build everything from scratch or rely solely on government relationships. Actively seek partnerships with **local startups, universities, and civic groups** — entities that possess the nuanced understanding of local cultures, data landscapes, and regulatory environments needed to make your AI fit the *local soil*. This operationalizes the [[concept-country-level-ai-ecosystem]] lens and supports [[concept-localized-ai-execution]].

**Outcome:** Faster market integration, access to local talent, and improved cultural fit for AI products.


## Related across articles
- [[action-partner-ai-startups]]
- [[action-leverage-lynchpins]]