India is the leading country of origin for immigrant founders of U.S. billion-dollar startup companies, with Indian-born entrepreneurs having founded or co-founded 96 unicorns in the United States, according to a new report by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP).
According to the report, Immigrants and U.S. Billion-Dollar Companies , immigrants have founded or co-founded 455 of America's 775 privately held start-up companies valued at $1 billion or more, accounting for 59% of all US unicorns as of April 2026.
Among immigrant founders, India ranked first with 96 billion-dollar companies. Israel followed with 60 companies, while the United Kingdom ranked third with 47. China accounted for 41 companies, followed by Canada with 30 and Russia with 23. France, Germany, Ukraine, Australia, Pakistan and Romania also featured among the leading countries of origin.
The NFAP study said immigrant entrepreneurs behind U.S. unicorns come from 76 different countries, highlighting the role of global talent in building high-growth companies in the United States.
Immigrants behind majority of US unicorns
According to the report, nearly two-thirds of US unicorn companies were founded or co-founded by immigrants or the children of immigrants. The research also found that almost 80% of America's billion-dollar startups have either an immigrant founder or an immigrant in a key leadership position such as chief executive officer or vice president of engineering.
The collective value of the 455 immigrant-founded unicorn companies stands at approximately $5 trillion, the report said. These companies have created an average of 833 jobs each.
International students play key role
The report found that nearly one in four US unicorn companies has a founder who first came to the United States as an international student. These companies have created an average of 1,123 jobs per company and have a combined value of $3.5 trillion.
NFAP said the number of US unicorns with immigrant founders has increased significantly over the past decade. In 2018, 50 of 91 US unicorns had at least one immigrant founder. By 2026, that number had risen to 455 out of 775 companies.
As per the report, India is the largest source country for immigrant founders of US billion-dollar start-ups, placing it well ahead of every other country represented in the study.
