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Poland enters 2026 in a position few would have predicted just a decade ago. The beginning of the year brought significant international praise for Poland across major media and news outlets: technologically advanced, investment-ready, and rich in high-quality IT talent. Moreover, Poland is keeping its place as the world’s 20th largest economy this year, also. Let’s take a closer look at some stories that particularly highlighted Poland's strength and global impact.
Poland on the Cover of L’Express: “One of the Best Places In Europe to Start a Business.”
French weekly L’Express recently devoted its cover and an entire special report to Poland, calling its success “a miracle that is not the result of chance.” One sentence from the report stands out in particular: This is the first time in history that a Central European country is genuinely catching up with the West.
The article analyzes Poland’s rapid economic and political transformation since the collapse of the communist system, highlighting its transition from a low-income economy in the early 1990s to one of the fastest-growing countries in the European Union.
Poland has achieved sustained GDP growth, significantly improved living standards, and increased its international economic and geopolitical relevance. According to IMF projections, Poland’s GDP per capita (in purchasing power parity terms) has reached over 80% of the French level and may soon exceed that of Japan.
This success is rooted in the economic “shock therapy” of the 1990s, Poland’s accession to the European Union in 2004, and the effective use of EU funds to modernize infrastructure. The country has also developed a new form of soft power through global cultural and technological successes such as The Witcher video game, while cities like Warsaw and Wrocław have become hubs for multinational companies and innovative startups.
One of the particularly interesting topics discussed in the article is entrepreneurship. The magazine argues that Poland is “one of the best places in Europe to start a business.” As an illustrative example, it highlights Infermedica, a company founded in 2012 that develops AI-based solutions for preliminary medical diagnosis and currently operates in more than 30 countries.
Its founder, Piotr Orzechowski, believes that Poland is one of the best places in Europe to run a business:
Here, you have access to very well-educated young graduates who are eager to prove that Poland can achieve great things.
Venture Capital, AI, and Deeptech: Investments in Poland's IT Sector
Poland’s venture capital ecosystem is entering a new phase of scale and maturity. In January 2026, Future Tech Poland, a PLN 1.5 billion (€325 million) fund backed by Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego and the European Investment Fund, was officially launched as a cornerstone of the Innovate Poland program. Mirosław Czekaj, President of BGK, emphasized the ambition behind the initiative:
The goal of this project is not only to increase investment volume but also to strengthen the VC ecosystem and Poland’s role as a hub for innovation.
The fund is expected to catalyze up to PLN 5 billion (€1.08 billion) in total investments, supporting 150–200 technology companies primarily in Central and Eastern Europe. The initiative aims to stimulate the growth of domestic innovative companies, address the financing gap faced by start-ups and SMEs, and encourage private equity and venture capital investors to engage more actively in the Polish market.
Today, we are building a bridge between Poland’s strategic ambitions and the scale of Europe. Poland is ready to take the next leap. Over the past decade, we have seen Polish companies such as Brainly, Booksy, ICEYE, and ElevenLabs make their mark on global markets, said Patric Gresko, Head of Division for Institutional Relationships in CEE, Baltics & Nordics at EIF.
The programme builds on the investment initiated in the previous year. In 2025 alone, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) invested €1.35 billion across 44 projects in Poland, making it the third-largest EBRD investment market globally. Notably, 74% of EBRD investments in Poland supported green energy, efficiency, and resilience projects.
On the other hand, according to Polish VC funds and institutional investors, the strongest demand today focuses on AI-driven and data-intensive technologies. Beyond healthcare and AI, cybersecurity, infrastructure, energy, and defence technologies are also gaining traction in Poland.
Rozalia Urbanek, board member for investments at PFR Ventures, notes:
In the past two years we have recorded 64 transactions in the broadly defined health-care sector, and every fourth one involved a company that either makes significant use of artificial intelligence or develops AI-based solutions. [...] Deeptech most often attracts so-called mega-rounds. These include companies such as ICEYE and ElevenLabs.
Why Global Companies Choose Poland? EY New Centre in Katowice and Haptiq Expansion
What truly differentiates Poland in 2026 is not the capital, but the people. Poland is one of Europe’s most reliable sources of senior software engineers, AI specialists, cloud architects, data analysts, and cybersecurity experts, as reported by the doITinPoland platform:
For instance, Emerging Europe's Future of IT 2024 Report said that in 2024 Poland had 539,100 Software Developers. This is hardly surprising, as Poland has long been home to a significant number of IT specialists. As Infoshare pointed out, already in 2017, Poland was home to almost 25% of all Software Developers available in the entire CEE region.
This is reflected in continued expansion by global organizations. EY Global Delivery Services opened a new operational center in Katowice, creating over 150 high-skilled jobs in IT, analytics, and finance.
The decision to locate the new centre in Katowice reflects the city’s strong talent pool, well-developed academic environment, and rapidly growing technology ecosystem. Ajay Anand, Global Vice Chair at EY GDS, emphasized Poland’s role in EY’s long-term strategy:
Poland is a strategic market for EY GDS in Europe. The region offers strong technological potential, a solid academic base and highly qualified specialists whose competencies align well with our global needs.[...] We believe that diverse and talented professionals from Upper Silesia will significantly strengthen our presence in the region.
EY GDS has been operating in Poland since 2011 and currently employs around 3,000 people in Wrocław and Warsaw. Since then, the organisation has expanded its scope of activities, developing IT, analytics, finance, and creative teams. The opening of the new centre in Katowice marks another milestone in the 15-year history of EY GDS in Poland and confirms that the country remains one of EY’s key operational hubs in Europe.
On the other hand, smaller companies are also entering the Polish market, including those that already operate delivery teams in lower-cost offshore locations. Despite having access to more cost-competitive talent pools, they are still choosing to invest in Poland.
One example is Haptiq, an enterprise technology solutions provider serving private equity firms, government entities, and institutional organizations. The company has recently opened an office in Warsaw.
As the company stated, the office in Warsaw will operate as a core enterprise delivery and operations hub, supporting its global client base and product research and development. The choice of Poland is, of course, driven by its geographic advantage and strong knowledge. Alon Tvina, CEO of Haptiq, highlighted:
“Private equity firms, governments, and institutional organizations require enterprise solutions that can be implemented, governed, and scaled reliably. Poland gives us access to world-class engineering and delivery talent while allowing us to support European clients more closely with the rigor, consistency, and execution discipline they expect from an enterprise partner.”
Polish IT Talent as a Strategic Advantage for Global Companies
In 2026, an era defined by AI adoption and rising cyber threats, companies are asking a different question than they did a few years ago. Not where is it cheap? But: where can we build stable, scalable, high-quality tech teams for the long term? Poland is usually the best answer. As was mentioned by Ajay Anand, Poland and Polish developers have many advantages in the case of IT, but we should name a few more:
- advanced engineering and analytical skills
- experience with international clients
- fluency in English
- deep expertise in AI, cloud, and cybersecurity
- a pragmatic, solution-oriented mindset.
What also distinguishes a Polish IT talent is measurable performance. Polish developers rank 3rd globally according to HackerRank and other independent media such as SkillValue. In the Pentalog's latest ranking of the world's best developers, Poland stands out as one of the few countries that has consistently maintained its position in the Top 10. While the landscape has changed significantly, with countries like Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Serbia, and even tech powerhouses like Germany and Switzerland no longer making the cut, Poland has proven its enduring excellence.
In competitive programming, the results are equally impressive. Polish programmer Psyho is the only human participant ever to have claimed victory over AI models and top human rivals in the AtCoder World Tour Finals 2025 Heuristic, one of the most prestigious contests in the field. At the International Olympiad in Informatics, Poland ranks 5th in the world in the all-time standings, with a remarkable total of 45 gold, 54 silver, and 36 bronze medals.
It is therefore no surprise that leading global technology companies, including AI pioneers and cybersecurity leaders, increasingly rely on Polish engineers in senior, research, and leadership roles.
But one of the most challenging aspects is finding and securing top Polish IT talent. Especially for companies with limited knowledge of the Polish market or those that simply need experienced local support to navigate it effectively. Here’s how Winged IT can help them.
Winged IT as Your Recruitment Partner in Europe
At Winged IT, we help international companies access the very best of the Polish tech ecosystem. As a leading Polish Tech Recruitment, Staff Augmentation, Cybersecurity, and Consulting company, we provide flexible collaboration models tailored to your growth strategy.
Winged IT’s offers:
- IT recruitment & headhunting,
- staff augmentation,
- remote in-house teams,
- branch setup in Poland (EU),
- cybersecurity services
Since 2017, we have supported over 100 companies across four continents in building strong, reliable, and scalable tech teams powered by Polish developers. We understand both the expectations of international organizations and the strengths of the Polish IT market, and we bridge that gap.
This makes us a comprehensive partner in expanding technological capabilities in Poland. With a strong emphasis on integrity, inclusivity, simplicity, and long-term customer trust, we help companies build solid, high-quality teams, with no upfront fees and a 3-month guarantee.
