Tom Gray of Belfast software firm Kainos said more investment was needed to produce skilled workers.
He said that Northern Ireland was competing with the rest of the world.
"The fact that we may have budgetary issues has no impact on what the rest of the world is doing," told the BBC's Inside Business programme.
"They don't care what we're doing.
"If we don't invest and move forward, we're just going to fall behind everybody else."
Earlier this month, Employment and Learning Minister Stephen Farry warned that the way that higher education is funded in Northern Ireland was "no longer sustainable".
He launched a consultation to try to find agreement on how universities should be paid for.
Inside Business is on BBC Radio Ulster and Radio Foyle at 13:30 BST on Sunday.
Northern Ireland is in danger of being left behind if there are further cuts to the higher education budget, a leading technology expert has warned.