New data shows just how essential immigrant founders are to the US innovation engine. In Menlo Park, 87.5% of unicorn and $1B+ exit founders are originally from outside another country. Miami (85.7%), Cambridge (82.9%), Santa Clara (81.3%), and Palo Alto (79.2%) follow closely.
San Francisco and New York City are the cities with the most headquartered unicorns and $1B+ exits - 66% and 59% of their unicorn founders respectively are first generation immigrants.
The most dynamic tech hubs are built on global talent, and the US's ability to attract the world's best and brightest has been one of its crucial entrepreneurial strengths. New international student enrolment at US universities dropped 17% this autumn compared to previous years. While US student applications in Europe and Asia have spiked.
Understanding who builds the world's biggest companies is becoming just as important as tracking their funding. That’s why we've massively expanded its the depth and coverage of people-data in recent months, offering unprecedented visibility into founders, talent flows, and academic origins.
This chart comes from a new dashboard coming soon — but you can already tap into powerful people-related insights today, including:
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