San Francisco – Venture capitalists hoping to strike it rich are increasingly betting on the entrepreneurial skills of U.S. immigrants – a melting pot that has already cooked up more than $500 billion in shareholder wealth, according to a study to be released today.
Immigrants launched nearly one in every five U.S. startups that relied on venture capital before turning to the stock market during a 35-year period ended in 2005, based on data compiled by two research groups, the National Foundation for American Policy and Content First.
The lucrative partnerships between immigrants and venture capitalists have become even more prevalent in recent years, the study found.
Since 1990, one in every four venture-backed companies that have completed initial public offerings of stock had at least one immigrant founder, including Internet stars such as Google Inc.’s Sergey Brin and Yahoo Inc.’s Jerry Yang.
“Yahoo would not be an American company today if the United States had not welcomed my family and me almost 30 years ago,” said Yang, who emigrated from Taiwan. “We must do all that we can to ensure that the door is open for the next generation of top entrepreneurs, engineers and scientists from around the world to come to the U.S. and thrive.”
The National Venture Capital Association, a trade group, paid for the study as part of its effort to persuade federal lawmakers to allow employers to hire more foreign-born employees under H-1B visas – temporary permits that allow foreigners to work in the United States for up to six years.
