Unicorn powerhouses: Five Israeli universities rank among top non-US institutions for startup success

Israeli Institutions, led by the Technion, outshine Cambridge and Oxford in unicorn founder study

Shahar Ilan

10:28, 10.06.24

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Five of the seven non-American universities whose graduates have the best chances of founding a unicorn in the United States are Israeli. The Technion - Israel Institute of Technology ranks first, with Reichman University surprising in second place. This is according to a study by Prof. Ilya Strebulaev, Finance Professor at Stanford and Founder and Director of the venture capital initiative at Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Israel Institute of Technology graduates are 25 times more likely to become a founder of US unicorn.

Tsinghua and Reichman Universities are next with 11.3, followed by INSEAD, Ben Gurion and Tel Aviv Universities.#theventuremindset #israel #unicorns pic.twitter.com/WhnTgKkcMU
— Ilya Strebulaev (@IlyaStrebulaev) June 5, 2024 
In fourth place is the European Institute of Business Administration (INSEAD), which has four campuses. Ben Gurion University also surprised by coming in fifth place, ahead of Tel Aviv University (6th) and the Hebrew University (7th). The Israeli universities are ahead of the British universities of Cambridge (8th) and Oxford (11th). These results are indeed a badge of honor for these institutions, but they are problematic for the Israeli economy, which would benefit more if these unicorns were established locally.
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The analysis only considered non-U.S. universities that have at least ten unique unicorn founders, totaling 17 institutions on the list. According to Strebulaev, 31 American unicorn founders are graduates of the Technion, and a Technion graduate's chance of founding a unicorn in the United States is 25 times greater than that of an average university graduate founding a startup with an investment from a VC firm. The chance of a graduate from Reichman University or Tsinghua University, both tied for second place, is 11.3 times greater, with each producing 14 unicorn founders.
Tel Aviv University leads the world in the number of founders of American unicorns, with 42 in total. However, the chance of a Tel Aviv graduate founding a unicorn is less than that of graduates from other Israeli institutions—5.6 times—likely because this university has a greater representation among the founders of American companies that did not become unicorns.