A new study by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) has revealed that India contributes the highest number of founders to the United States, surpassing all other countries. According to the report, Indian founders have started 96 billion-dollar startups in the US. Israel ranks second with 60 such companies, followed by the UK with 47, China with 41, and Canada with 30. The report profiled these immigrant founders, examining their backgrounds, including whether they came to the US as students or for employment.
Key Findings of the Study
The report indicates that immigrants have founded or co-founded 59% (455 out of 775) of America's privately held startup companies valued at $1 billion or more. This marks an increase from 55% in NFAP reports released in 2018 and 2022. Furthermore, two-thirds (66%) of US billion-dollar companies (unicorns) were founded or co-founded by immigrants or the children of immigrants. Nearly 80% of America's unicorn companies have an immigrant founder or an immigrant in a key leadership role, such as CEO or vice president of engineering.
Context Amid Anti-Immigrant Sentiment
The report arrives at a time when anti-India narratives on social media are at their peak, with H-1B visa holders often portrayed as fraudulently entering the US, stealing American jobs, and contributing to the housing crisis. However, the study's findings have countered these criticisms, prompting praise for the Indian-American community from various commentators.
Commentator Richard Hanania wrote, "India has sent 96 people to America who started billion-dollar companies. No one else is even close. There's only about 5 million Indians in America. Almost one in 50,000 of them is a unicorn founder! What a holy, special, beautiful people. I will always fight for them."
Indian business tycoon Anand Mahindra added, "Time to use the old American phrase: 'You ain’t seen nothing yet..!' Despite the challenges, Indian Americans will remain as entrepreneurial as ever. But the new stage will be right here within India where the startup boom has only just begun. And it will surprise the world…"
Additional Insights from the Study
- 183 billion-dollar companies have founders who attended a US university as international students.
- SpaceX, with 25,700 employees, has the most employees among billion-dollar companies with an immigrant founder.
- India, with 96 companies, is the leading country of origin for immigrant founders of billion-dollar companies.
- The 455 immigrant-founded US unicorns have a combined valuation of $5 trillion.
- Immigrant women founders of billion-dollar companies include Rihanna (Barbados), Sherry Wei (China), Jen Rubio (Philippines), Joanna Kochaniak (Poland), and Wei Dang (China).
Indian Founders with Multiple Billion-Dollar Companies
- Mohit Aron: Nutanix and Cohesity
- Jyoti Bansal: AppDynamics and Harness
- Ashutosh Garg: Bloomreach and Eightfold.ai
- Arvind Jain: Rubrik and Glean
- Sachin Nayyar: Securonix and Saviynt
- Ajeet Singh: Nutanix and Thoughtspot
The study underscores the vital role of Indian immigrants in driving innovation and economic growth in the United States, despite ongoing debates about immigration policy.
