Europe lacks – Anton Osika, CEO of AI startup Lovable, says Europe’s AI scene isn’t short on talent—it’s short on belief. He argues founders don’t need to leave for Silicon Valley, pointing to Lovable’s rapid growth beyond $500 million in annual recurring revenue and widespr
Anton Osika didn’t start his argument with spreadsheets or statistics. He started with a blunt claim posted on X over the weekend: Europe’s AI startups don’t have a talent problem.
“The talent was never the problem,” the CEO of Lovable wrote. “The belief that you could build from here was.”
In his account, the pressure on founders to relocate to Silicon Valley has been relentless. Osika said he was repeatedly told that if you wanted to build a serious AI company, you should move to San Francisco. Lovable chose Europe instead—and, in his telling, never looked back.
That message now carries more weight because Lovable has become one of Europe’s fastest-growing AI startups. This month, the company surpassed $500 million in annual recurring revenue. Osika said millions of people have used Lovable’s vibe-coding platform to turn ideas into products and businesses. with many of those users based in Europe. The US still remains its largest market.
The debate around Europe’s AI competitiveness often lands on skill shortages. Osika is challenging that premise with a different picture: he says talent is moving back. He pointed to “some of the best engineers” he knows relocating to Europe to do their most important work.
That move toward Europe isn’t happening only at the level of personal conviction. Data compiled by workforce intelligence firm Revelio Labs. using public immigration data. found that more tech workers were moving from the US to Europe than from Europe to the US by the end of 2024—reversing a long-standing pattern of tech migration.
One name attached to Lovable’s story is Patrik Torstensson, a former Meta engineering director who joined earlier this year. Torstensson left the tech giant’s California office in July 2025 and its London office in April.
For Osika, the timing matters. He linked the shifting movement of workers to a harder reality for some foreign professionals trying to build careers in the US. Tighter immigration enforcement and increased scrutiny of work visas are making the path more difficult.
Even with talent returning, Osika says Europe still has one gap left to close. “The talent and demand is here,” he wrote. “We just need regional infrastructure to match it,” referring to Europe’s need for more local AI infrastructure.
The tension running through Osika’s comments is clear: the shortage he’s describing isn’t in engineers—it’s in confidence and capacity. Europe can attract people back and build products used by millions. but to scale the next wave. he argues. it needs infrastructure that keeps pace with the ambition already showing up on the ground.
Lovable Anton Osika AI startups Europe Silicon Valley annual recurring revenue vibe-coding Revelio Labs tech migration immigration enforcement work visas AI infrastructure
So it’s not talent, it’s belief? ok but my cousin can’t even get an interview.
I don’t buy it. If Europe was so good they wouldn’t need to copy everything from Silicon Valley. “Belief” sounds like PR to me.
Wait so now people are moving back from the US to Europe by 2024?? That seems backwards. also does this mean AI jobs are coming to my town or is it just another company talking on X.
Loveable… like the company name?? Anyway I read that and figured it’s just another CEO saying whatever to stay relevant. Europe lacks belief not talent, sure, but the US has money and connections, so of course founders “don’t have to” leave. The $500 million ARR part is wild but I’m guessing half that is from existing investors or something. Also “vibe-coding” feels like a gimmick.