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A new sector survey shows that the country’s 259 business service centers employ 119,500 professionals, with artificial intelligence adoption accelerating.
The survey, presented by the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency, found that 42% of centers have phased out lower-value activities and replaced them with more sophisticated functions. Meanwhile, 75% plan to bring additional high-value operations to Hungary in the coming years.
Some 91% have already implemented or are introducing AI solutions, while 72% have a dedicated AI strategy.
The number of centers increased from 245 in 2025 to 259 this year, while employment rose from 118,500 to 119,500. At the beginning of the decade, the sector comprised approximately 150 centers employing 70,000 people.
Opening the conference, co-organized with ABSL Hungary and AmCham Hungary, Zolnay, of the Ministry of Economy and Energy, said the new investment promotion strategy would build on Hungary’s skilled workforce.
Business services, life sciences, engineering and research and development will receive particular attention as the country seeks to attract more knowledge-intensive investment.
HIPA CEO Bence Buday said the agency supported 125 BSC investment projects between 2014 and the first half of 2026, expected to create more than 23,000 jobs. Future investment promotion efforts will place greater emphasis on productivity, innovation and cooperation between foreign investors and Hungarian companies, he added.
ABSL Hungary President István Lenk described business services as an engine of the Hungarian economy, contributing through international investment, specialist expertise and connections to global corporate networks, alongside employment.
AmCham Hungary President Ákos Janza said increasing domestic value creation was essential to economic development. Business services could make a significant contribution by creating highly skilled jobs without requiring large-scale capital investment, he noted.
HIPA manager Fadi Shadeh emphasized the need for stronger cooperation across the sector, noting that Hungarian centers primarily compete with locations abroad rather than with one another.
Closer collaboration between companies, universities, local governments and economic organizations will therefore be increasingly important to maintaining international competitiveness, he said.
Industry representatives participating in a panel discussion agreed that Hungary needed to compete through workforce expertise and productivity rather than labor costs. Rapid advances in AI also required businesses and universities to work more closely together to prepare employees for changing skill requirements.
Participants highlighted the importance of attracting multilingual international professionals to support global operations. Several speakers said improving the regulatory environment for highly skilled workers from outside the European Union could strengthen Hungary’s regional competitiveness.
The conference also recognized leading companies through awards decided by participating professionals.
Jaguar Land Rover Hungary received the Investor of the Year award, while Tesco Business Solutions won the Business Excellence & Innovation category. BT, or British Telecommunications, received the Education and Talent Development award.
Following the HIPA conference, Budapest is hosting the international ABSL Forum, offering a further opportunity to raise the sector’s global profile and present Hungary as a regional location for knowledge-intensive business services.
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