India leads countries producing immigrant founders of US billion-dollar startups

Main points

• India leads with founders behind 96 unicorns
• Immigrants founded 59% of US unicorns
• Founders came from 76 countries

India has produced more immigrant founders of US billion-dollar startups than any other country, highlighting the large role foreign-born entrepreneurs play in America's technology and startup economy.

A June 2026 study by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) found that Indian immigrants founded or co-founded 96 US startups valued at $1 billion or more. Israel ranked second with 60 companies, followed by the United Kingdom with 47 and China with 41. The data were collected as of April 2026.

Canada followed with 30 companies, ahead of Russia with 23, France with 21 and Germany with 18. Ukraine accounted for 16, Australia 14, Pakistan and Romania 10 each, while Brazil, Iran and Lebanon each had nine.

The figures count billion-dollar companies founded or co-founded by immigrants from each country, rather than the total number of individual founders. Because some startups have several immigrant founders, including founders from different countries, the country totals should not be added together to produce several companies.

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Immigrants founded most US unicorns

The broader NFAP study found that immigrants founded or co-founded 455 of the 775 privately held US billion-dollar startups it examined, equal to 59% of the total. When the children of immigrants are included, the share rises to about 66%.

The founders themselves came from 76 countries, showing that America's immigrant startup sector extends far beyond the largest contributors shown on the map. Countries outside the top 15 include Nigeria, Italy, Poland and Türkiye with seven companies each, as well as Argentina, New Zealand and Taiwan with six each.

NFAP also found that international education has been an important route into US entrepreneurship. 183 of the 775 billion-dollar companies, or nearly one in four, had at least one founder who originally came to the United States as an international student. In total, the study identified 233 former international students who went on to become founders or co-founders of such companies.

The findings update earlier NFAP studies of immigrant entrepreneurship and show how heavily the US startup ecosystem draws on people born abroad. India stands well ahead of every other country in the 2026 data, with its 96 companies exceeding the combined total for Germany, France, Russia and Canada.