88 Of Israel’s 98 Unicorns Now Have US Headquarters

The vast majority of unicorns – companies valued at over $1 billion – that were founded in Israel now have their headquarters in the US.

Eighty-eight out of Israel’s 98 unicorns have moved their HQ there, according to the United States – Israel Business Alliance (USIBA).  

The US is now the headquarters of 88 Israeli unicorns, or companies that are valued at $1 billion or more. 

The total number of Israeli-founded unicorns now headquartered in the US is up 10 percent from 80 last May.

California is the state that has become home to the most Israeli startups, at 35, followed by New York (30), Massachusetts (10), Illinois (3), New Jersey (3), Florida (2), Georgia (1), Minnesota (1), Oregon (1), Texas (1), and Washington (1).

In 2022, Israeli-founded unicorns headquartered their businesses in nine states. This year, Georgia and Minnesota joined the list. Landa, a 3D printing innovator, has its US headquarters in Atlanta, and NextSilicon, a semiconductor processing company, relocated from Texas to Minneapolis.

The USIBA estimates that these 88 unicorns have combined to create 61,858 direct jobs worldwide. The average number of direct jobs created worldwide by each company is 703. 

The estimated total valuation for all 88 unicorns amounts to $233.7 billion. Rapyd, located in California, remains at the top of the list with a $15 billion valuation, followed by Deel ($12 billion), Gusto ($10 billion), Wiz ($10 billion), and Navan ($9.2 billion).

That said, these companies have not been immune to the global economic downturn. Investments have slowed dramatically and many of the companies have laid off their employees in recent months. 

Liquidity Group, headquartered in Manhattan, is the only Israeli-founded unicorn in the US to cross the billion-dollar threshold so far in 2023.

By way of comparison, 14 current Israeli-founded unicorns achieved their billion-dollar or greater valuation in 2020; 38 reached the milestone in 2021; and 21 did so in 2022.

“The rising number of Israeli-founded unicorns in the United States is a testament to the strategic value that this market continues to offer Israeli entrepreneurs,” said USIBA president Aaron Kaplowitz.

“In recent years, there’s been better product-market fit between Israeli technological solutions and American enterprise challenges.”

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