A new analysis from the Institute for Progress underscores a striking truth about America’s AI leadership: immigrants aren’t outliers in the tech sector — they are the backbone. According to the study, 60% of the top privately held AI firms in the U.S. — including OpenAI and Databricks — were co-founded by immigrants, many from India, China, and beyond.
Elon Musk (South Africa), Ilya Sutskever (Russia), Ali Ghodsi (Iran), and Matei Zaharia (Romania) aren’t just success stories — they represent a trend. The brightest minds behind the AI revolution are often born elsewhere, but choose to build in America.
This isn’t new. The U.S. tech industry has long relied on foreign-born scientists and engineers to drive innovation. What’s new is the friction. While countries like Canada, the U.K., and China ramp up recruitment of global STEM talent, US immigration pathways remain clogged — green card queues are years long, and H-1B policies are politically charged.
The Trump administration’s AI policy development is unfolding within this tension: a drive for global tech dominance on one hand, and restrictive immigration policies on the other.
If America wants to stay ahead in AI, the lesson is clear: talent wins. And talent doesn’t stop at the border.
Source: https://www.axios.com/2025/04/18/ai-startups-immigrant-founders