Expert view: Dominika Walec PhD

Krakow is entering a new phase of strategic acceleration — one in which AI becomes the defining layer of value creation. Poland already stands on exceptionally strong foundations: according to Trading Economics, the country ranks 3rd globally in productivity, just one point behind Ireland, providing a powerful launchpad for AI driven growth . Yet, as Anthropic’s research shows, real world AI adoption still covers only a fraction of what is technically possible — meaning the next wave of productivity gains is still ahead .

Krakow is uniquely positioned to lead this wave. With GBS workforce of 120,000 people, including more than 50,000 specialists with over a decade of process expertise, the city offers a concentration of talent capable of training AI systems and building value added digital solutions at scale. This evolution is already visible: Krakow hosts over 65,000 IT professionals and is shifting from delivery to strategic development across global organizations.

The city’s AI infrastructure is equally transformative. Cyfronet AGH — home to Poland’s fastest supercomputers — is becoming a European level AI Factory, backed by  70 million euro and focused on such areas healthcare, space technologies, and large language models. Meanwhile, Cisco’s new 4 MW data center investment (200 million PLN) adds critical R&D capacity for AI, cloud, and sustainable computing — and signals strong corporate commitment to Krakow’s innovation ecosystem.

Krakow’s startup ecosystem — with 50+ AI startups and global scale innovators like Synerise, IntoDNA provides another engine of growth, with emerging synergies between founders and enterprise hubs. Cisco’s startup focused initiatives only strengthen this alignment.

Add to this the natural convergence with Krakow’s high value sectors — life sciences, space, and dual use technologies — and the availability of large investment plots at Nowa Huta Przyszłości, ideal for data centers and next generation AI gigafactory infrastructure, and the city’s trajectory becomes clear:

The vision is clear and executable: a city where world-class infrastructure, vertical sector expertise, and nearly 3,000 annual IT graduates converge into a self-reinforcing innovation engine — one that shapes European AI, rather than simply adopting it.