Immigrants account for 50 percent of the founders for America’s startup “unicorns” valued over $1 billion.
Backing such entrepreneurs is the compelling, if controversial, investment thesis for Unshackled Ventures’ new fund.
The Palo Alto, Calif., firm will minimize U.S. immigration barriers for aspiring entrepreneurs, by hiring foreigners who are already in the U.S. for school or work.
Unshackled then takes over the visa process, provides benefits and backs their startup ideas with up to $300,000 in pre-seed equity funding.
Unshackled launched in 2014 with $3.5 million from the Emerson Collective, Bloomberg’s venture arm, Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang and others.
