90 Founders Amongst 500 US Unicorns Were Born In India

Findings from a recent study compiled by Ilya A. Strebulaev, a Finance Professor at Stanford University¡¯s Graduate School of Business, show that out of 1,078 founders across 500 unicorns in the USA, 90 entrepreneurs were Indian born.

Just a few days back, he had tweeted regarding the same.

Where Were Unicorn Founders Born?

New result on immigrants & US economy

For 1,078 founders of 500 US unicorns, I identified founders' countries of birth. Conclusion: Over four out of ten unicorn founders are first gen immigrants.@StanfordGSB #startups #immigration #unicorn pic.twitter.com/07GbKrIopy

¡ª Ilya Strebulaev (@IlyaStrebulaev) January 13, 2022

This clearly signals the significant presence of Indian Americans in the country¡¯s startup as well as tech economy.

Much Higher Than Nations Like China & UK

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Out of the 44% Non-US born Unicorn founders, the number of India-born founders was the highest at 90.

This was followed by the other non-US-born ones from Israel, Canada, UK, and China, with 52,42,31, and 27 founders respectively for these nations.

Also Read: From CRED To UpGrad: Top 10 Startups In India As Per LinkedIn

Tech Professionals Heading Back To India?

This data compilation and announcement by the professor comes at a time when many Indian-based technology professionals are already looking to head back home.

According to a report by Silicon Valley-based tech publication The Information¡¯s some days back, Indian immigrants in the US were increasingly giving up on their American dream amid visa issues as well as the lure of a thriving startup industry in India.

And it¡¯s not the startup founders alone, even India-born executives are now heading and running the most powerful tech giants in the US, like Google and Microsoft.

Also Read: 10 Bollywood Celebrities And Their Startup Investments

India¡¯s Thriving Startup Ecosystem & Rising Number Of Unicorns

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Also Read: Fastest Growing Indian Startups That Were Quick To Turn Unicorns

Not only is India¡¯s startup ecosystem witnessing a rising number of unicorns, but even the pace at which they are turning is getting quicker. And the trend did not stop in 2022 as well, with India getting its first unicorn of the year on the very first day of 2022 itself!

Even as per a recent report by venture capital fund Orios Venture Partners, Flipkart was the most valuable unicorn ($37.6 billion after raising $3.6 billion in July 2021), while Mensa Brands was the fastest to turn unicorn (took only 6 months to turn unicorn in November 2021 round after raising the first $50 million round in May 2021).

And that's not all.

India has seen four decacorns (companies with a valuation of USD 10 billion and above) so far- Flipkart, Paytm, Byju's and Oyo Rooms, the report stated. And with 46 unicorns in 2021, India¡¯s total tally for unicorns till 2021 stood at 90!

Also Read: Indian Startups Bag Record $36 Billion Funding In 2021

Landmark Year For Indian Startups Rolling Out IPO

The report also stated that the year 2021 was a landmark year for Indian startups going public, with Zomato having the highest market capitalisation ($14.8 billion) among the listed Indian startups, followed by Nykaa ($13.5 billion) and Freshworks ($6.9 billion).

Also Read: Unicorn Razorpay's Value Grows Seven-Fold In Just Over 1 Year

Bengaluru-The Unicorn Hub Of India

As per the report, Bengaluru was the 'Unicorn Hub' with 18 unicorns emerging from the city in 2021 and 35 in all. And not just that.

Bengaluru also happens to be the 7th largest unicorn city in the world! As far as in India, Delhi claimed the second spot with 13 unicorns in 2021 v/s 3 in 2020, while Mumbai boasts 11 unicorns in the year 2021 v/s just one in 2020!

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