AI founder says Americans leaving the US are overlooking opportunity

More people left the United States than entered in 2025, according to Brookings Institution figures cited by CNBC, marking a rare reversal in U.S. migration. Arvind Jain, a former Google engineer who co-founded Rubrik and Glean, told Fortune that Americans seeking exits are misreading what the country still offers entrepreneurs.

Jain, who moved from Jaipur, India, to the U.S. in 1986, told Fortune the country faces real problems but remains unusually welcoming to founders. “There are certain things in the U.S. today that are challenging,” he said, while adding that it “remains the land of opportunity” and a place where entrepreneurship is celebrated.

Fortune reported that Jain arrived in America with an engineering degree, later became one of Google’s distinguished engineers, and went on to co-found two companies valued at more than $1 billion. Glean, his newer AI company, is valued at about $7.2 billion, according to Fortune.

Departures rise as political and cost pressures grow

The Brookings Institution estimated that U.S. net migration in 2025 was negative by somewhere between 10,000 and 295,000 people, according to CNBC. Fortune reported that the shift was the first time in at least 50 years that departures exceeded arrivals, and that comparable negative migration had not occurred since the Great Depression.

Up to 405,000 people left voluntarily, according to the report cited by Fortune. Fortune said those departures were tied to a volatile political climate, tougher immigration enforcement and a cost of living that has strained even some high earners.

Jen Barnett, co-founder of Expatsi, told CNBC that nearly nine in 10 attendees at May’s Move Abroad Con blamed the government for their interest in leaving. Fortune reported that 600 Americans attended the event to plan moves abroad.

Fortune also cited search data showing that U.S. interest in phrases such as “move to Canada,” “move to Italy” and “move to Portugal” rose on the night of the Trump-Biden debate in June 2024. The largest jump in those searches happened when Donald Trump was first elected, Fortune reported.

Miki Habryn, a former OpenAI researcher, previously told Fortune that she moved with her family to Stockholm after concluding she could not stay in the U.S. under Trump’s America. Habryn, who described herself as both an immigrant and transgender, said the campaign focus on those groups left her feeling directly targeted.

Jain points to Silicon Valley’s AI pull

Jain told Fortune he has seen fewer people deciding to come to the U.S., including a decline in international students choosing American universities. Still, he argued that the opportunity for founders remains strong, especially around artificial intelligence.

“Maybe we’re in a bubble, but I live in Silicon Valley, and this is the land of innovation today,” Jain told Fortune. He said most startups in AI are being formed there.

Fortune pointed to other immigrant executives as examples of the U.S. technology sector’s pull. The publication cited Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who was born in Taiwan and moved to the U.S. as a child, and AMD CEO Lisa Su, who also immigrated from Taiwan as a child.

Fortune also cited Asana CEO Dan Rogers, who moved from the U.K. and previously said the Bay Area’s concentration of AI companies, investors and talent drew him to the region. Rogers told Fortune that 30 of the companies on the Fortune 50 AI list were based in the Bay Area.

Jain’s view, as reported by Fortune, is that the U.S. still offers a rare path for people with ideas but little experience to find financial backing. “You can just graduate from college, have no experience, but if you have an idea, you will find people who will be willing to invest in you,” he said.

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.