Why Austria

Summary & Key Findings

Austria boasts top notch research in AI with one of the founding fathers of speech recognition technology – Sepp Hochreiter – teaching and innovating here. The most important AI research fields today include robotics and autonomous driving in addition to knowledge- based and learning systems.

With a strong industrial production base, it is no wonder that 55% of Austrian AI companies focus on industrial applications, followed by AI Tech Stack and enterprise functions. To support their growth, Austria offers attractive funding schemes in the form of direct and indirect R&D incentives. More than 50 universities and research institutes educate the talents needed to ensure success. These attractive conditions have convinced international companies to set up their AI centres of excellence in the heart of Europe.

Austrian AI at a glance

Regional Distribution & Hubs

Out of 300+ companies and startups close to 50% are concentrated in Vienna. Strong regional ecosystems have emerged in Styria and Upper Austria as well, correlating with high R&D expenditures in these provinces.

Research & Education

Austria has emerged as a frontrunner in the field of AI education. Thanks to its cutting edge educational system, renowned universities and research institutions as well as a thriving technology industry, Austria provides an ideal environment to fully harness the potential of AI. The close collaboration between academia and the business sector allows students to benefit from hands-on projects and interdisciplinary partnerships, enhancing Austria’s position as a leading hub for AI education. With 3 Ellis units, Austria boasts the highest density per capita of any EU country for European Laboratories of Learning and Intelligent Systems.

Austria as destination for international founders

In previous years we pointed out that Austrian talent gradually moved into the spotlight of Silicon Valley tech companies, resulting in local AI operations of Amazon, Meta (Facebook) and Snap. AI Hubs opened during this first wave were mostly focused on doing AI research in Austria, utilizing local talent, with limited interaction with the local community.

In the last 12 months this movement gained steam and saw the opening of AI Centers of Excellence, European headquarters of AI companies up to international startups which chose Austria as the place to incorporate their business.