The AI brain drain – why Europe struggles to keep its talent

Europe is losing its AI talent to better-paying jobs abroad. As the EU races to train a million specialists by 2030, Central and Eastern Europe must tackle brain drain with bold incentives, ecosystems, and opportunities.

A promising AI PhD from Romania or Poland is more likely to jump to the UK or US for better pay than stick around locally. Well, that’s how it seems anyway.

The EU Digital Summit is currently underway in Gdańsk under Poland's EU presidency, with the AI Chamber releasing an ambitious regional plan targeting €100B annual GDP growth via AI.

The Central and Eastern European region (CEE) lags behind in AI adoption (4-6% vs 13.5% EU average), yet holds 22% of the EU population.

Europe’s strategic problem

The EU is competing for digital sovereignty.

Current estimates suggest Europe has around 300,000 to 350,000 AI specialists today, far short of the 1 million needed.

However, Tomasz Snażyk, CEO of AI Chamber, seems to think this is possible.

“The EU’s goal to train 1 million AI specialists by 2030 is ambitious but possible if CEE moves from incremental efforts to systemic interventions like fellowships, brain circulation, and AI centers embedded in universities,” Snażyk said.

Despite the AI Chamber’s regional plan aiming to train 10,000–15,000 new AI specialists in CEE by 2027, the challenges faced by the region go beyond education.

Incentives, career pathways, and industry alignment are critical to retaining talent locally.

“Without competitive opportunities to retain and apply AI skills at home, many graduates will continue to leave or pivot to other sectors,” Snażyk told Cybernews.

Turning brain drain around

CEE is known as a net exporter of AI talent due to limited career opportunities locally, lower financial incentives compared to Western countries, and underdeveloped AI ecosystems and professional networks.

When asked what would make Poland – or any CEE country – a magnet for top AI talent instead of a net exporter, Snażyk told us:

“Three things make a difference: visibility, incentives, and ecosystems. Changing perception with campaigns like ‘CEE AI Champions,’ alongside tax reliefs, relocation bonuses, and fast-track visas, are key to attracting top talent.”

Planned innovation hubs in Warsaw, Prague, and Sofia are touted as examples of creating professional density and ecosystem strength.

Viable isn’t exciting enough

Looking further afield, it’s difficult for European startups to compete with US and Chinese giants without blowing their budgets.

Furthermore, even if living costs are lower, salaries and incentives still lag behind the US and Western Europe, pushing talent away.

How can this all be remedied?

“CEE startups compete by leveraging lower costs, targeted infrastructure support, and by offering engineers impact-driven projects in healthcare, energy, and logistics where they can see the real-world effect of their code,” says Snażyk.

If Europe, and in particular CEE, wants to stay in the global AI race, it must give talent a reason to stay. These innovative ecosystems being viable isn’t enough – they have to be exciting too.