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To answer that question, Crunchbase took a look at founders and CEOs across several groupings of startup unicorns. The research included the most heavily funded private companies, newly minted unicorns and companies that recently crossed the $5 billion valuation mark.

The short answer? Yes, immigrants are still heavily represented in the ranks of U.S. unicorn founders and CEOs. They hail from multiple continents, and are leading companies in sectors from e-commerce to crypto to pharmaceuticals.

The long answer? Yes, but maybe less so. Early data indicates the proportion of high-valuation U.S. startups founded or led by immigrants may be trending down some. One factor is the growth of startup hubs outside the U.S., making it easier for founders to launch companies in their home country. The other, most notorious factor: the hurdles of securing a visa as a would-be startup founder.

“There is no visa specifically for someone who wants to start a company,” according to , founding partner at , a Silicon Valley-based firm that invests in U.S. startups with immigrant founders.

While U.S. student enrollment of foreign nationals roughly doubled from 2007 to 2018, there hasn’t been a corresponding strategy to speed or simplify graduates’ pursuit of a green card, Mehta said. And although that issue predates Trump’s election, the current administration hasn’t helped, deciding not to implement an Obama-era .

Still, a striking percentage of funded private companies that crossed the $1 billion valuation threshold this past year are immigrant founded. Below, we take a look at 19 such companies, along with a look founders’ countries of origin.

We also look at the most heavily funded, highest-valuation private companies overall with immigrant founders and CEOs.

The big picture

If investors are backing fewer immigrant-led U.S. startups, it may be because there are fewer available to back. For the 2018-19 period, U.S. immigration declined to 595,000 people—the lowest level since the 1980s, according to one oft-cited . It’s a level that leaves even some members of the Trump administration’s inner circle concerned that immigration levels are to support economic growth.

Of course, one needn’t be a new immigrant to launch a high-flying startup. Many of the successful founders on our lists above immigrated years or decades before their companies took flight. The lists, overall, include immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children as well as those who came later, commonly to attend universities.

Lastly, we should keep in mind that immigration, like unicorns, venture funding and startup valuations, has historically been rather cyclical. The issues confronting immigrant founders today may very well fade away or morph into something completely different in coming years.

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’ Kia Kokalitcheva.

led the equity financing, which included participation from new investors and (the global investments and partnerships arm of The Times Group of India). Existing backers , and also pitched in.

The Series C round brings Santa Monica, Calif.-based Headspace’s since its inception in 2010 (was it really founded a decade ago?!) to $168.2 million, according to Crunchbase data. The company declined to disclose at what valuation the latest round was raised. It closed on a $36.7 million in June 2017.

To rise above the hype around meditation, Headspace claims to be “the most science-backed digital mindfulness product in the market.” As an example of that, the company says it’s currently in progress on over 70 clinical research studies with institutions such as and .

Over the years, it’s branched out from its consumer app into different product lines including “Headspace for Work,” its B2B segment that counts , , and among its 600 enterprise customers. It’s also offering “Headspace Health,” an effort to integrate mindfulness into health care. In general, the company says its goal is to help its users apply mindfulness to improve their health via content around stress, anxiety, sleep and focus, among other things.

Growth

Since its founding, Headspace said it has experienced over 62 million downloads in 190 countries and has more than 2 million paid subscribers.

In addition to growing its direct-to-consumer business,Headspace says it will continue to invest in its Headspace for Work segment, which has seen its revenue double year over year from 2017 to 2018 and most recently in 2019. It also plans to continue putting money into its health care segment. I’ve reached out for more specifics regarding its financials and will update this piece if I get them.

In 2019, the company launched localized versions of the app in French and German, and appointed former executive as head of its European division to lead expansion in that region. Also last year, Headspace launched in Latin American Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese. It expanded into Asia through strategic relationships with partners such as The Times of India. The company plans to use its new capital in part to continue expanding internationally.

Investors talk

, founding partner of blisce/ said, Headspace’s aim with its offerings “resonates deeply with blisce/’s core belief that it is possible to both ‘Do Good’ while also building a strong business with sustainable growth.”

, CEO of of India, notes that Headspace co-founder began his mindfulness journey as a monk in India, and as such, he is “excited to bring things full circle through” a strategic partnership.

Of course, Headspace is not alone in the meditation app space. Last February, announced the close of an $88 million Series B round that propelled it into unicorn status with a $1 billion valuation. In July, it announced a $27 million extension to that round.

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Companies like and have plastered billboards around cities touting their promises, and while mattresses have been in the limelight with Casper’s recent IPO, a slew of other products are cropping up in what’s been coined as the “Sleep Economy.”

The “Sleep Economy”

“I think there’s much more awareness around the power of sleep and the impact of lack of sleep,” said Eric Hutchinson, co-CEO of , the parent company of mattress brands including and DreamCloud.

The “sleep health” industry is estimated to be worth between $30 billion and $40 billion, and has historically grown about 8 percent each year, according to a 2017 report from consulting firm

The industry can be split into three categories: ambience modification (mattresses, pillows, curtains, lighting, etc.), routine modification (things like sleep monitors, meditation, smart alarm clocks) and therapeutic treatment (sleep aids, apnea treatment devices, surgery, etc.), according to McKinsey.

“Sleep in general is at a premium right now,” co-founder and CEO Mike Grillo said in an interview with Crunchbase News. “I think the notion that you could purchase a product that is demonstrated to improve your sleep is very attractive to people. It’s an easy first step.”

Gravity Blanket raised more than $4 million through a Kickstarter campaign in 2017. In addition to its signature weighted blankets, it offers products like weighted sleep masks, aromatherapy pillows, and a CBD line with melatonin and chamomile.

Most of the sleep product market in the past has been filled with pharmaceutical products, sleep aids like Ambien, Grillo said. But he expects to see more physical products that aren’t pharmaceuticals or mattresses gaining traction with consumers.

And with new markets (and potential products) comes inventiveness and fresh startups.

Gravity Blanket is pushing forward with new products and will be coming out with a line of cooling sheets, weighted apparel and a sleep serum in collaboration with a beauty company in the future.

“The mattresses have given birth to this direct-to-consumer economy … but the emergence of companies like and have made wellness really en vogue,” Grillo said. Meditation apps have also attracted venture dollars, with Calm raising about in funding, according to Crunchbase, and Headspace bringing in about.

Gravity sees itself more in the space of wellness than the home space, Grillo said, and the company has collaborated with Calm for a line of weighted blankets, which includes a one year subscription to the meditation app.

Resident co-CEO Hutchinson pointed to other secondary products like pillows, sheets and adjustable bases as a growing opportunity. They’re replaced more frequently than a mattress, which typically has a life of eight to 10 years, but also important for a good night’s sleep.

The rise of the internet made information more accessible, and made “shopping for mundane products enjoyable” Hutchinson said.

And what better market than sleep-deprived consumers ready and willing to pay for some help.

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