New Delhi: Founders who grew up in India account for around $560 billion in founder-share-attributed company value across current and former unicorns based outside India, according to the new Indian Diaspora Index released by technology investor Prosus and startup data platform Dealroom.

The report highlights the growing role of Indian-origin entrepreneurs in building high-value technology companies in global markets. However, the $560 billion figure is an indicative measure rather than the actual wealth or shareholding of individual founders.

The index tracks overseas unicorns that have at least one founder who grew up in India. Under its methodology, the valuation of each company is divided equally among its founders, and the portion attributed to qualifying Indian-origin founders is then counted.

This means the figure represents founder-share-attributed company value, not the actual stake held by those founders.

205 overseas unicorns linked to Indian-origin founders

The Indian Diaspora Index identified 205 current and former unicorns abroad with at least one founder who grew up in India. Together, these companies have created a significant footprint across global technology ecosystems.

Of these, 70 unicorns worth about $243 billion on the founder-share basis were built entirely by founders who grew up in India.

The group includes companies associated with entrepreneurs such as Jay Chaudhry of Zscaler, Arvind Jain, Arvind Nithrakashyap, Bipul Sinha and Soham Mazumdar of Rubrik, as well as Ajeet Singh, Dheeraj Pandey and Mohit Aron of Nutanix. Skild, founded by Deepak Pathak and Abhinav Gupta, is also among the companies highlighted by the index.

Another 135 unicorns, where Indian-origin founders form part of the core founding team, contributed around $317 billion on the same founder-share basis.

This broader group includes companies such as Palo Alto Networks, Bloom Energy, Astera Labs and Perplexity.

How the $560 billion figure was calculated

The methodology is important because the $560 billion figure should not be interpreted as the combined personal wealth of Indian founders.

For each company, the index takes its valuation and divides it equally among the founders. The resulting portion linked to founders who meet the report’s criteria is then counted.

For example, if a company had four founders and a valuation of $10 billion, the methodology would attribute $2.5 billion to each founder, regardless of whether their actual shareholding was equal.

The index then aggregates the portions attributed to founders who grew up in India.

As a result, the figure is designed to measure the scale of company value associated with Indian-origin entrepreneurship rather than the founders’ actual ownership or net worth.

Indian unicorns also account for significant value

The index also compared the overseas ecosystem with India’s domestic unicorn landscape.

It said 102 unicorns based in India account for approximately $349 billion on the same founder-share basis. Flipkart, Zomato and Groww were among the companies contributing significant portions, with attributed values of about $36 billion, $30 billion and $16 billion, respectively.

Other reporting on the index put the number of Indian unicorns at 101, reflecting differences in the reporting or dataset snapshot. The core comparison remains that the study identified more Indian-origin founder-linked unicorns abroad than unicorns built in India.

United States dominates Indian-origin founder ecosystem

The United States emerged as the largest destination in the broader analysis of companies linked to Indian-origin founders.

According to the report, 62% of companies in its broader birth-origin cohort are based in the US. Of 323 companies included in that broader analysis, 200 were either started in the US or relocated there.

The report said 178 companies were started in the US, while another 22 relocated there.

The birth-origin analysis is broader than the narrower overseas index. It includes founders who left India as children as well as companies based in India, so the two datasets should not be treated as identical measures.

The strong presence of Indian-origin founders in the US reflects the importance of the American technology and venture capital ecosystem for entrepreneurs building companies at global scale.

Prosus highlights Indian entrepreneurial talent

Saurav Jain, Principal Investor at Prosus India, said the index reflects the ability of Indian founders to combine technology, ingenuity and local understanding while building companies at significant scale.

He also pointed to the experience Prosus has gained through nearly two decades of investment in India and said the report highlights the density of entrepreneurial talent emerging from the country.

The findings also underline how Indian entrepreneurial influence extends beyond companies headquartered in India. Indian-origin founders are increasingly represented among technology businesses operating across software, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure and other technology segments.

What the data means for India’s startup ecosystem

The findings offer a broader view of the Indian startup ecosystem. While India has developed a substantial domestic unicorn market, a large number of entrepreneurs who grew up in the country have built companies after moving abroad.

The distinction between actual ownership and founder-share-attributed value remains important. A company’s valuation does not directly translate into the personal wealth of its founders, particularly because founders may own different percentages of their businesses and their holdings can be diluted through multiple funding rounds.

The $560 billion estimate should therefore be read as an indicator of the economic scale of companies associated with Indian-origin founders rather than as a measure of wealth held by those individuals.

The Prosus and Dealroom index nevertheless points to the global footprint of entrepreneurs who grew up in India. With 205 current and former overseas unicorns identified in the narrower index, Indian-origin founders represent a significant part of the international technology entrepreneurship landscape.

Conclusion

The Indian Diaspora Index estimates that founders who grew up in India account for $560 billion of founder-share-attributed value across 205 overseas unicorns. Of these, 70 companies worth $243 billion were built entirely by Indian-origin founders, while another 135 companies contributed $317 billion through their Indian-origin founding teams.

The figures highlight the global reach of Indian entrepreneurial talent, particularly in the US. At the same time, the methodology makes clear that the $560 billion figure is a notional, founder-share-based measure and should not be confused with actual founder ownership or personal wealth.