New Delhi: The startup boom has only just begun in India, Anand Mahindra declared in an X post on Thursday. “Time to use the old American phrase: ‘You ain’t seen nothing yet!’” he wrote.
The chairman of the Mahindra Group was responding to research by the National Foundation for American Policy, which found that immigrants founded or cofounded 455 of America’s 775 privately held billion-dollar startups. Indian immigrants topped the list as founders or co-founders of 96 unicorns.
Mahindra nodded to this, posting that despite challenges, “Indian Americans will remain as entrepreneurial as ever”. But it was in India that he predicted the real action would take place. “And it will surprise the world…” he wrote.
Time to use the old American phrase: “You ain’t seen nothing yet..!”
Despite the challenges, Indian Americans will remain as entrepreneurial as ever
But the new stage will be right here within India where the startup boom has only just begun.
And it will surprise the world… https://t.co/Ke3ORMMotO
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) June 4, 2026
The quoted post by innovation policy expert Alec Stapp noted that immigrants account for 59 per cent of all unicorns in the US. When children of immigrants are included, the figure rises to 66 per cent. Furthermore, 79 per cent of US unicorns feature either an immigrant founder or an immigrant in a key leadership role. The number of such companies has surged from 50 in 2018 to 455 in 2026. Notably, 24 per cent of US unicorns were founded by entrepreneurs who first arrived in America as international students.
Indian-origin unicorn founders were followed—distantly— by those from Israel (60), the United Kingdom (47), China (41), and Canada (30).
In India, though, the picture is more mixed. According to government data, India is the fourth-largest startup ecosystem globally by funding, with over 2.23 lakh DPIIT-recognised startups as of March 31, 2026 . However, though the country has produced 131 unicorns to date, only 93 remain active. Funding momentum has also slowed. Deal volume fell 34 per cent from the previous year, with total funding dropping 18 per cent, according to the Tracxn Geo Annual Report: India Tech FY25-26
Given this backdrop, Mahindra’s bullishness on India’s startups was met by comments that were both enthusiastic and sceptical.
Reverse brain drain?
Mahindra’s post fed into a wider conversation on reverse brain drain, or the movement of talent back to fast-growing home economies after years of migration to richer countries.
“The reverse brain drain is becoming incredibly real. For a long time, the narrative was about making it big abroad, but the gravity has completely shifted. India’s ecosystem isn’t just growing; it’s maturing into a powerhouse that can support massive, homegrown scale,” commented X user @giris4u.
Another commenter, @ErRahul337, said Indian talent had powered much of America’s unicorn boom, “and now the energy is shifting back home”, adding that with “massive digital infrastructure, a young population, and a growing AI/startup ecosystem, the best is yet to come.”
A reply from @Ferbin08 said he had returned to India to do robotics work and found it more cost-effective.
“You’re not burning through $100k/month on SF rent just to exist. The iteration speed when you’re not bleeding cash on overhead is wild,” the comment read.
Others, however, pointed to infrastructure gaps, regulatory hurdles, pollution, and the undervaluation of skills in India as reasons many founders still look abroad.
“The real question is: can India become the best place to fail honestly? Until founders can shut down, pivot, and start again without years of regulatory and financial baggage, many of our biggest companies will continue to be built elsewhere,” wrote @Vic_Vij.
Entrepreneur and investor Joe Mikhaili also questioned India’s innovation landscape, posting that he visits the country frequently for business but sees only “me too startups” on the ground.
“Question: do you really think the next iPhone or nvidia will come from India… Do you really believe that the country has the ecosystem to support it? Without the institutional corruption that chokes everything?” he asked.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)