Latinometrics will be in Miami next week! The World Strategic Forum will feature Latin American heavyweights like Vicente Fox, Iván Duque, Juan Guaidó, and many big-name executives. We’ve partnered with the host, IEFA, to offer our subscribers 30% off regular price tickets! Make sure to use the link below to get the discount.

Immigration has been cited as a chief reason why the US has outperformed its Group of Seven (G7) counterparts in post-pandemic growth. And foreign-born workers produce nearly a quarter of total US innovation…despite making up just 16% of inventors.

Finally, there are the country’s star companies, of which a large number are founded by foreign-born entrepreneurs. Take the unicorns, for example.

Bubble chart showing countries of origin for foreign US unicorn founders, with India producing the most founders | Sources: Ilya Strebulaev, Venture Capital Initiative, Stanford Graduate School of Business (08/2024), Latinometrics
Where do foreign US unicorns come from?

When looking at US firms valued at over $1B, we see some results which shouldn’t surprise too much. India, the world’s most populous country, is the best-represented among foreign birthplaces. Canadians and Europeans, who have an easier time immigrating to the US, are far more visible than, say, their African counterparts.

Naturally, we’re most interested in Latin America’s position. Brazil is unsurprisingly the star player of the region, with nine US unicorns being founded by Brazilians, including seven-year old fintech Brex.

What is somewhat surprising is what comes afterwards. Despite Mexico being the birthplace of more people in the US than any other country worldwide, only one unicorn in the US has been founded by a Mexican.

That’s below not just Argentina but even tiny countries like Ecuador and Guatemala (and the latter’s evil green owl), to say nothing of global per-capita leader Israel.

Bar chart ranking countries by US unicorn founder rate, showing Mexico has founded only one unicorn despite being the birthplace of many US residents | Sources: Latinometrics
Ranking countries by US unicorn founder rate

Evidently, Latin Americans still have some way to go when it comes to bringing their ideas to life in the US.

To bridge the gap between our region and other, more developed peers, greater investment in educational access should be a priority.

Furthermore, ensuring that entrepreneurs can obtain access to credit, funding rounds, and other sources of capital can go a long way towards creating tomorrow’s unicorns—within the US and Latin America alike.