Anand Mahindra Hails Indian Entrepreneurs' Lead In US Unicorn Startups, Says: 'The New Stage Will Be Within India'

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra recently reacted to a new study published by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) which observed that Indians formed a part of the major chunk of entrepreneurs who were behind billion-dollar startups in the United States. Commending the performance of Indian Americans, the 71-year-old asserted that the startup boom has begun in India as well which is set to surprise the world.

Leading the list of US unicorn startups, a total of 96 Indian immigrants founded or co-founded privately held US startup companies valued at $1 billion or more, higher than any other country in the world. Second on the list is Israel followed by United Kingdom. With Indians emerging as some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the US, Anand Mahindra in a post on X wrote,“Time to use the old American phrase:“You ain't seen nothing yet..!” Despite the challenges, Indian Americans will remain as entrepreneurial as ever.”

Also Read | Quote of the day by Anand Mahindra: 'When you set the right targets...'

Reiterating his belief in entrepreneurial spirit of Indians, he added,“But the new stage will be right here within India where the startup boom has only just begun. And it will surprise the world...”

How are immigrants driving America's unicorn economy

The study by Stuart Anderson revealed that immigrants founded or co-founded nearly 59% of America's privately held startup companies that is 455 out of a total of 775 privately held US unicorn startups. The findings of this research shed light on the importance of immigrants in cutting-edge companies. According to the report, 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.

The study found that around 66% of America's unicorn companies were founded by immigrants or the children of immigrants.

Also Read | Meet Monako Glass: Chinese startup unveils smart glasses that run Claude Code What would have been US wealth status if immigrant founder were not allowed in the country?

The report suggested that America would have had $5.0 trillion less wealth if immigrant founders were not allowed in the country. This research is based on information on more than 700 privately held startups valued at over $1 billion as of April 2026.

Asserting that Immigrants have fueled the rise of US billion-dollar startups, an excerpt from the study said,“Given that each cofounder contributes to a startup company's success, it appears likely that few of the billion-dollar companies with at least one immigrant founder would exist or been created in the United States if the foreign-born founder had not been allowed to come to America, implying America would have fewer than half as many billion dollar companies, hundreds of thousands fewer jobs and up to $5.0 trillion less wealth.

This report highlights that number of immigrant-founded US unicorns spiked significantly from 50 in 2018 to 455 in 2026. Furthermore, 24% of US unicorns have a founder who first came to America as an international student.

MENAFN04062026007365015876ID1111214714