It all started in 2008, when a couple of fellow engineers, technology enthusiasts, and lifelong innovation advocates gathered around a seemingly unsolvable technology challenge. Their first sales pitch? “Give us a technology problem that nobody has been able to solve. If we solve it, we’re in.” In case you wonder what the “if not” part of this proposition was – it didn’t even exist.
Fast forward 17 years, and little has changed. Sure, nobody is updating their MySpace profile anymore, but the pitch remains unchanged (although now much more sophisticated, backed by almost two decades of experience and a pool of brilliant minds that have helped build HTEC’s success story).
From an attic office to 3000 global experts and 27 Fortune 100/500 clients
Back in 2008, the company’s story began at the Belgrade Business Incubator of Technical Faculties, where Alex Čabrilo, and soon after Dušan Kosić, and their small but exceptionally bold team set out together with a shared vision to create a leading engineering consulting player in the region. It took HTEC a few years to reach a leading position in the SEE while becoming known for exceptional engineering expertise and an unparalleled portfolio of industry-leading clients and partners, spanning Serbia, Bosnia, North Macedonia, Slovenia, Romania, and Hungary.
For the teams joining HTEC, the opportunity was clear: to work on global projects with renowned industry players while contributing to initiatives designed to have a meaningful, positive impact. As the company’s president, Dušan Kosić, likes to emphasize, “the work we choose reflects the values we stand for: creating a better future through engineering and saying no to projects that could harm people, society, or the environment.”
In 2016, the company moved its headquarters to San Francisco and continued expanding across the US and Europe, and more recently, Latin America. Today, HTEC has a presence in 36 locations across 20 countries, with headquarters in Palo Alto and strategic consultancy offices in London, Munich, and Granada.
Many flavors, one HTEC: Growing through shared vision
Over the past few years, HTEC has grown not just in numbers, but in depth — by joining forces with companies whose culture, values, and technical strengths match our own. Whether it’s the recent expansion in Europe or Latin America, the focus is always the same: empowering people to make a positive impact by working on meaningful global challenges, while helping customers unlock greater value through expanded expertise in the most impactful technologies of today, including AI, IoT, and embedded engineering.
This expansion is not only about scale: it’s a deliberate strategy. By bringing together diverse perspectives, expertise, and market insights, HTEC strengthens its capacity to address the most complex challenges — keeping that same bold spirit and vision set forth by the founders in 2008.
For our people, this means opportunities to grow by learning from diverse perspectives and gaining insights from different markets and cultures.
Putting the AI-first approach to practice
The recent business and technology landscape has clearly shown that the risk of ignoring workforce AI literacy is getting too high to ignore. That’s why for HTEC, adopting an AI-first approach is more than a strategic priority: it’s a commitment to equipping our teams with the skills to lead in the AI-driven era.
As Aleksandar Čabrilo, HTEC’s CEO and co-founder, has often pointed out:
“What sets our teams apart is an inquisitive mindset, a desire for constant growth, and a genuine care for the people we work with. What’s crucial for every leader at HTEC is to recognize the opportunities, act on them, and provide our people with all the tools necessary to seize them and drive positive change.”
If it’s not broke – improve it
Maybe the whole philosophy that’s marked these 17 years of HTEC could be condensed into “never settle for what works”. This is an approach we take with our customers and team members alike – we strive to not just solve the challenge at hand, but to recognize the opportunity to always drive additional value. Asked about what he thinks the years to come will bring, HTEC’ founders easily found a shared perspective:
“After all these years, what we take the greatest pride in is still seeing the same drive and passion that has brought us where we are today. Many team members have been with us for more than 10 or 15 years – and the pride that we feel seeing what we’ve done together gives us confidence that the best is yet to come.”
