How European startups can triumph in the AI talent war

Per head, Europe boasts a 30% higher concentration of AI experts than the United States, and nearly triple that of China. However, in the global tug-of-war for talent, many of these Europe-educated experts are being pulled to the US. There, as reported in the Financial Times, global tech giants with deep pockets and global reputations – such as Google and Microsoft – are snapping up researchers and engineers at pace, leading to fierce competition amongst smaller companies across the Atlantic. As a result, within Europe’s tech startup community, attracting and retaining the AI talent needed to scale and compete is proving a huge challenge – and a huge barrier to growth. 

As an exited digital health founder, serial investor, advisor and seat-holder on several startup boards, I have plenty of experience of getting AI talent strategy right – and wrong! Here are my learnings and  my top advice for founders on how to play your hiring cards right – so you can grow a world-class engineering team without spending all your cash.  

Investigate the AI skills mix you really need 

Before embarking on your headhunt, conduct a thorough assessment of your talent gaps and think carefully about the skills mix you need. Often, startups make the mistake of advertising expensive roles where there is a lot of competition for talent, when their need could be filled by someone with a less sought-after skill set. Also, identify where you might be able to promote, upskill or retrain current team members to fill gaps, so you can ensure you’re not expending resources on hiring externally if you don’t need to be.  

For some projects, you might want to consider outsourcing work to external contractors.  This allows you to extend your technical team and quickly onboard experienced talent – which is particularly helpful for time-critical tasks. Outsourcing also provides you with the flexibility to adapt to shorter term projects, and the time to fully develop your understanding of the skills you need to recruit for over the long term. 

Put your company mission front and centre 

Your startup doesn’t have the instant name recognition or prestige of Google and Microsoft, but what you may have is a powerful mission to make the world a better place. According to research from Deloitte, Gen Z members of the talent pool are highly motivated to work for purpose-driven company – and for some, purpose matters even more than salary. 

Aleph Alpha, a German AI company, have grown their team by over 164% to 111 employees over the past 12 months, helped by the strength of their mission is to build the best large language models (LLMs) in the world in order to empower businesses and governments with the most advanced generative AI technology.  

So, ensure that you have clear and consistent messaging regarding your company mission, and that you are effectively communicating this during the hiring process. Don’t be shy about leaning into aspects of your company mission that are most likely to resonate with your target hires – such as sustainability, social equity, or improving health outcomes. 

Over the past six months, Cambridge techbio startup Qureight has successfully leveraged their mission to improve outcomes for heart and lung disease patients to attract leading AI talent from top academic institutions and universities. New hires were motivated by Qureight’s vocal commitment to redefining precision medicine and their publicly-stated principles of scientific rigour and data excellence. 

Leverage the advantages of your startup status

As an agile, lean company, you have a lot to offer your early stage hires. This is because, in a startup environment, even experienced AI talent will find ample opportunities to learn, expand their skills, take on new responsibilities, and quickly progress their careers. As an employer, work with your HR team to create a rich culture of innovation and learning in your organisation, where employees are provided with ample opportunities for professional development and career progression. 

If feasible, build a work structure that supports flexible and remote work, so you can widen your talent pool and attract AI talent not based in your HQ location. You may even consider establishing an office in one of the emerging AI talent hubs – such as India – when you have the capacity to do so. 

Although you won’t be able to salary-match some of your competitors, startups have more scope to build personalised, creative compensation packages, such as equity options, performance-based bonuses, or non-monetary benefits, to create attractive compensation packages within limited budgets. 

Recruit creatively and through partnerships

If you’re looking to cut through competition, look beyond recruiters and LinkedIn to track down your new AI hires. Think about how you can get creative to get your opportunities in front of the right candidates – and who can help you. Your investors, for example, can help spread the word across their network, and even local journalists can help spread the word of your hiring endeavours. In addition, you could nurture mutually rewarding partnerships and mentoring schemes with academic and research institutions – including local universities – where you can help develop your future talent pipeline whilst supporting students.  

Locking down your A team 

With competition for AI talent likely to intensify in the years ahead, I’d strongly advise every AI startup to craft a solid talent strategy in place to support planned scaling. Focus on showcasing the unique and creative value that your company can offer to your employees, leverage the advantages that come with being a smaller, more agile organisation, and do not deviate from your company’s culture and values when selecting new recruits. 

About the author

David Buller, is a Founding Partner at Ascension Life Fund, exited founder of Avantec Healthcare, and a serial Angel investor in healthtech & techbio companies. He has years of first-hand experience of supporting startups to source and hold onto top-tier AI talent.