Virginia and Maryland are among national leaders in the number of immigrant entrepreneurs founding high-tech companies, according to a report released today.
The report, titled “America’s New Immigrant Entrepreneurs” and conducted by researchers from Duke University and the University of California at Berkeley, found nearly 30 percent of the new high-tech businesses in Virginia were formed by immigrants. In Maryland, about 17 percent of businesses were formed by immigrants.
Virginia was ranked fifth nationally, while Maryland was ranked 12th. California ranked first with 38 percent.
Vivek Wadhwa, a Duke researcher who worked on the report, saidthe findings in Maryland and Virginia were surprising. In the national capital region, “there are a lot of technology companies being started. It’s a trend that’s very surprising,” he said.
Wadhwa added that the study identified what he described as a disturbing trend of the U.S. losing intellectual capital. According to the report, 25 percent of patents of new technology filed from the U.S. with the World Intellectual Property Organization were filed by foreign nationals working in the U.S. with temporary visas. If these nationals leave, they would take their patents with them. He said these skilled workers should be included in the debate over immigration.
“The trouble is the intellectual capital is going away,” Wadhwa said. “It’s a brain drain.”
Peter Harrison, a British national who is the chief executive of Tysons Corner-based software company GlobalLogic, said his experience backs the report’s conclusions.
“The fact that [immigrants] left their country of origin and come here means they are higher-qualified than average, more risk-taking. They make the decision that work is a primary motivator for them,” he said.
The national capital region “has become a talent magnet” for these immigrants, especially Indian immigrants, Harrison said.
