Indian-born entrepreneurs have founded more U.S. billion-dollar startup companies than immigrants from any other country, according to a new report highlighting the outsized role of global talent in America’s technology and innovation economy.
The National Foundation for American Policy, a nonpartisan research group based in Arlington, Virginia, says India is the leading country of origin for immigrant founders of U.S. unicorn companies, with 96 billion-dollar startups linked to founders from India. Israel ranked second with 60, followed by the United Kingdom at 47, China at 41 and Canada at 30.
The report, released June 3, 2026, found immigrants have founded or co-founded 455 of 775 privately held U.S. startup companies valued at $1 billion or more. That represents 59 per cent of America’s unicorn companies. NFAP also found roughly two-thirds of U.S. billion-dollar startups were founded or co-founded by immigrants or the children of immigrants.
India Tops Country-Of-Origin List
The findings have drawn strong attention among Indian diaspora communities because of the scale of India’s lead. NFAP says immigrant entrepreneurs behind U.S. billion-dollar startups come from 76 countries, but India holds the top spot by a clear margin.
The report also says immigrant-founded billion-dollar companies have a combined value of $5 trillion and have created an average of 833 jobs per company.
Several Indian-born entrepreneurs named in the report have founded two or more billion-dollar companies, including Mohit Aron, Jyoti Bansal, Ashutosh Garg, Arvind Jain, Sachin Nayyar and Ajeet Singh. NFAP says six of the 15 immigrants identified as repeat billion-dollar company founders were born in India.
Viral Claim Needs Context
A social media claim saying “India has sent 96 people to America who started billion-dollar companies” captures the broad point, but the wording needs correction. NFAP reports 96 companies linked to immigrant founders from India, not necessarily 96 separate people.
The claim about “one in 50,000” is also a rough comparison. Pew Research Center estimated 4.86 million Indians in the United States in 2023, while another Pew analysis placed Indian Americans at 5.2 million. On paper, 96 companies against a population near five million gives a ratio close to one per 50,000. But the comparison mixes company count with population count, so it should be treated as an informal talking point, not a precise founder-rate statistic.
The broader finding remains clear. Indian immigrants now stand at the centre of America’s unicorn economy, with their role far exceeding their share of the U.S. population.
