The contributions that first and second generations of immigrants have made in Silicon Valley in terms of development of some of the biggest companies with a huge following across the globe, can never go unnoticed. It is estimated that about 60% of the top 25-tech companies have at least a first or second generation immigrant as a cofounder. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM), General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) and AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) are some of the top tech companies with immigrants as founders within their ranks.
Cupertino-based Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) founded on April 1, 1976 has within its ranks, Steve Jobs, as one of its outstanding co-founders. Steve Jobs is a second-generation immigrant born to a Syrian Biological father and Swiss-American Mother. Jobs is accredited to have pioneered the personal computer revolution as well as engineering the transformation from computers to smartphones through Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s products.
Sergey Brin is a computer scientist born in Moscow and one of the co-founders of Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG). In partnership with his co-founder, Larry Page, they have established one of most profitable internet companies of all times. Brin and Page reportedly own 16% of the company. Brin was six years old when moved to the U.S where he undertook his studies, earning an undergraduate degree in Computer science and where he later met with Page while doing a Ph.D. in Computer science and then started Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG).
Computer technology and IT consulting corporation International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) also has under its ranks a second generation immigrant co-founder in the name of Herman Hollerith. Born to German Parents in New York City in 1860, he was the founder of the Tabulating Machine Company that later merged and became International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM). Hollerith is widely referred to as the father of machine data processing.
Conglomerate multinational General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) was founded in 1892 with one of its co-founders being a British national, Elihu Thomson, born in Manchester, England, in 1853. Thomson with Edwin J. Houston founded Thomson-Houston Electric Company, which later merged with Edison General Electric Company to become General Electric Company (NYSE:GE).
Telecommunication giant AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)’s success and history come down to an eminent scientist and inventor, Alexander Graham Bell, who was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1847. AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) traces its origins back to the original telephone company that was founded by Graham Bell.
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