New research highlights the growing influence of Indian-born founders in America’s innovation economy, with immigrants playing a key role in most US unicorn companies
Indian-born entrepreneurs have established themselves as the leading immigrant group behind America’s billion-dollar startups, according to a new study that highlights the growing impact of the Indian diaspora on the US technology and business landscape.
Research by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), a US-based non-profit organisation, found that entrepreneurs from India have founded or co-founded 96 privately held American startups valued at more than $1 billion, the highest number recorded for any immigrant community in the country.
The report, Immigrants and US Billion-Dollar Companies, authored by NFAP Executive Director Stuart Anderson, found that immigrants have founded or co-founded 455 of the 775 US unicorns currently in operation. These companies account for 59 per cent of all privately held billion-dollar startups in the United States.
India topped the list of countries of origin for immigrant founders, ahead of Israel with 60 unicorns, the United Kingdom with 47, China with 41 and Canada with 30. Other countries represented include Russia, France, Germany, Ukraine and Australia
Among the notable companies founded by Indian-origin entrepreneurs is AI search firm Perplexity AI, co-founded by Aravind Srinivas. Valued at around $20 billion, it ranks among the most valuable privately held startups in the United States.
The study also identified six Indian-origin entrepreneurs — Mohit Aron, Jyoti Bansal, Ashutosh Garg, Arvind Jain, Sachin Nayyar and Ajeet Singh — who have each founded two or more unicorn companies.
More broadly, the report found that nearly two-thirds of US unicorns were established by immigrants or their children. Almost 80 per cent have either an immigrant founder or an immigrant serving in a senior leadership role.
Collectively, the 455 immigrant-founded unicorns are valued at approximately $5 trillion and employ an average of 833 people each, underlining their significant contribution to economic growth and job creation.
The report also highlighted the importance of higher education pathways, noting that 183 US unicorns were founded by entrepreneurs who first entered the country as international students.
Among the highest-valued US unicorns with immigrant founders are SpaceX, Anthropic, OpenAI, Databricks and Stripe, reflecting the outsized role immigrants continue to play in shaping America’s innovation-driven economy.
