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Introduction

I come from a family of immigrants; my family has immigrated from China to Taiwan to the United States
I previously wrote about my experiences growing up Taiwanese American in Indiana and shared that many of my childhood friends were also children of immigrants. Their parents are from countries like China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, India, Pakistan, Poland, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Switzerland, Russia, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.
In the U.S., we talk about immigrants achieving “the American Dream.” Immigrant success stories abound with people like Elon Musk, Sergey Brin (co-founder of Google), Sammy Sosa, Jerry Yang (co-founder of Yahoo!), Mila Kunis, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Indra Nooyi (former PepsiCo CEO), and Simu Liu (Shang-Chi).
These stories are incredible and important, but also may overshadow the challenges of being an immigrant (and of course, immigrants will have different experiences depending on their socioeconomic status, country of origin, level of education, etc.)
Being an immigrant is tough — you have to learn a new language, navigate a complicated healthcare system, build up your credit from scratch, undergo bureaucracy and waiting games to become a citizen, etc.
I strongly admire and want to better understand the great work of startups working to alleviate these hurdles for immigrants. I couldn’t find many lists or much existing research on this topic, so I created my own.
In the subsequent slides, you’ll find: 1) a market map of 41 startups serving immigrants across digital health, edtech, fintech, and legal tech; 2) profiles on eight companies; and 3) descriptions of all companies included

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

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The point of this research and slides

Immigrant populations have drawn a lot of vitriol and hate in the last few years as seen in a rise of hate crimes, travel bans, and the Trump administration’s actions to curtail immigration
But America needs immigrants — immigrants drive economic growth and innovation in the U.S.
After extensive (but not perfect) research, I only found 41 startups. This shows that there’s tremendous room for growth and opportunity in serving immigrants
Overall, I’ve love for this deck to be a springboard for anyone to learn about interesting companies and the realities of being an immigrant. I also hope you reflect on how you can make a difference:

For business leaders: how can you adjust your business model to support immigrants?
For leaders at nonprofits serving immigrants: how can these startups be a resource for the populations that you serve?
For investors: how can you invest or partner with some of these companies?
For everyone: how can you be more empathetic and kind to the immigrants around you like your coworkers, friends, acquaintances, rideshare drivers, neighbors, classmates, professors, etc.?

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

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The immigrant population is growing and contributes greatly to the U.S. economy

Demographics:

In 2020, there were 44 million immigrants in the U.S. — making up 14% of the U.S. population
Immigrants and their descendants are projected to account for 88% of U.S. population growth through 2065

Contributions of Immigrants:

In 2015, immigrants contributed $2 trillion to US GDP
Over 50% of U.S. startups valued at $1+ billion were founded by first-generation immigrants
48% of Fortune 500 companies were founded by first-generation immigrants or their children
During the 2015–16 academic year, international students contributed almost $33 billion to the US economy
40% of the Nobel Prizes won by Americans in chemistry, medicine, and physics since 2000 were awarded to first-generation immigrants
42% of the researchers at the top seven US cancer research centers are foreign-born

Sources: Key findings about U.S. immigrants (Pew Research Center); Modern Immigration Wave Brings 59 Million to U.S., Driving Population Growth and Change Through 2065 (Pew Research Center); The Trump Travel Bans and the Economic Impact of Immigration (Analysis Group)

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

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Approach & Market Map

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

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My approach to finding companies

My goal: find U.S. tech startups that serve immigrants
I scoured Pitchbook (a database with funding data for startups) for companies using the following search terms: immigration services, immigration advice, immigrants community, immigrants connecting platform, immigrants membership, multilingual health support, multilingual health solutions, immigrants financial service, immigration assistance, immigration, immigrant, immigrants, migration, refugee, and immigrant tools
I pored through descriptions of hundreds of companies to figure out which were actually serving immigrants. I bucketed these companies into four industries: digital health, edtech, fintech, and legal tech
Specific criteria of what I included vs. excluded are on the next page

There’s nothing wrong with the companies that I excluded. I simply wanted to have a specific focus for this project. Many of the companies that I’m excluding are also doing great work.

I’m an independent analyst who’s not endorsing, sponsored by, or doing marketing for any of these companies. Please do your own research if you’re interested in further engaging with a company.
I would love to learn about any companies that I’ve missed — please contact me if there are other companies I should be aware of!

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

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Types of companies included vs. excluded

US-based companies that help immigrants in the U.S.

Excluded

Included

Technology startups

Food companies or grocery-delivery companies

Companies that employ refugees and immigrants, but don’t help them in other ways

Companies that serve only minorities, but not immigrants specifically (although some companies included may serve both)

Nonprofits

Companies that have been acquired

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

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Market map

Note: Funding raised by WelcomeTech is included in both the digital health funding total and the fintech funding total

Sources: Pitchbook; Thank you to Yaritza (Vargas) Gunter of LingoHealth and Jing Chai for contributing to the “Digital Health” segment

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

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Observations on Included Companies

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

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Most companies included are early stage

Companies by stage (total = 41)

*“Other” consists of companies that are bootstrapped, going through accelerators, or pre-seed; these are generally all pretty early-stage

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

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Fintech has the most companies

Companies by industry (total = 43)

Digital health and edtech (especially in workforce development) have the fewest companies — indicating lots of room for innovation and growth!
Almost all of these companies sit in only one industry

Welcome Tech is the exception (offering both digital health and fintech services)

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

Note: Welcome Tech is included in the digital health, edtech, and fintech sections; that’s why the total here is 43 vs. 41 on slides 11 and 13

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Most companies don’t serve a specific diaspora

Companies by diaspora served (total = 41)

Many of the companies that serve specific populations are fintech companies
None of these companies specifically serve immigrants from parts of the world such as Europe or the Middle East

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

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Example Companies

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

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Example companies: digital health

Description: Developer of a patient engagement platform intended to connect payers, providers, and health systems with their multicultural Medicare patient populations

Why this matters:

By 2030, 1 in 5 Americans will be 65+
Between 2018 and 2040, the non-white 65+ population is projected to grow by 125% (compared to 32% for the white population)
Changes to immigration policy enacted during the Trump administration contributed to increased fears among immigrant families about participating in programs and seeking services, including health coverage and care

Description: Developer of a digital health platform designed for seniors and family caregivers in their preferred language and cultural context

Why this matters:

In 2017, 48% of U.S. immigrants ages 5+ were not proficient in English
People with Limited English Proficiency experience difficulties communicating with healthcare providers and worse health outcomes (e.g., prolonged hospital length of stay, frequent hospital readmission, and serious adverse effects) than those with high English proficiency

Sources: 2019 Profile of Older Americans (U.S. Health and Human Services); English proficiency among U.S. immigrants, 1980-2017 (Pew Research Center); Disparities in Health Insurance Coverage and Access to Care by English Language Proficiency in the USA, 2006–2016; Health Coverage of Immigrants; Older People Projected to Outnumber Children for First Time in U.S. History (U.S. Census Bureau); Pitchbook

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

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Example companies: edtech

Description: Slang offers personalized software and career-specific courses that enable users to learn English terms and expressions supported by real-world examples

Why this matters:

Limited English proficiency is a significant barrier to promotion and higher wages and can make workers vulnerable to abuse in the workplace
Vocational English training that integrates workforce content or combines ESL with technical training is more effective and efficient than classic ESL

Description: Provides education software designed to offer vocational skills training in the US Hispanic market and LATAM

Why this matters:

In March 2022, the U.S. had a record high of 11.5 million job openings. At the same time, there were 6 million people unemployed. This labor mismatch can be mitigated through upskilling or training workers.
The annual workplace training expenditure in the U.S. is $83B. Immigrants are frequently left out of upskilling initiatives due to language barriers or many may not work at the types of companies that provide upskilling.

English Language Learning

Workforce Development

Sources: Number of unemployed people per job opening is 0.5 in March 2022 (BLS); Training industry in the U.S.; Upskilling the Immigrant Workforce to Meet Employer Demand for Skilled Workers (The Urban Institute); Pitchbook

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

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Example companies: fintech

Description: Provides immigrants with machine learning technology, relevant financial education and tailor-made services (e.g., digital bank account, debit card, rewards offerings, and consumer credit offerings)

Why this matters:

In the U.S., 63 million adults and 25% of households don’t have full access to a bank
~51% of foreign-born noncitizens are either unbanked or underbanked, meaning they are not using the full extent of the banking industry’s service

Description: Helps newcomers to the U.S. build their credit history, offering them an easier way to pursue their vital and professional goals in the U.S.

Why this matters:

Immigrants are “credit invisible”, because U.S. underwriters can’t access international credit data
For immigrants, building their U.S. credit history back to previous levels (i.e., that of their home country) from scratch can take as long as five years
People who are credit invisible struggle to get approved for a credit card, loan, mortgage, or apartment

Financial Resources

Building Credit

Sources: FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation); What does it mean to be credit invisible? (CNBC); Company websites; Pitchbook

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

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Example companies: legal tech

Description: Developer of a corporate immigration platform designed to fully manage the companies’ immigration policies and needs

Why this matters:

One out of six workers in the U.S. is an immigrant
Visa requirements and complicated processes can prevent employers from hiring immigrants — even though immigrants can help fill the record high 11.5 million job openings in the U.S. in March
74% of HR professionals cite that obtaining visas in a timely, predictable and flexible way is critical to their business goals

Description: Provides immigrants with the tools, information, and personalized support to navigate their immigration journey

Why this matters:

The U.S. has been rated as one of the five hardest countries for obtaining citizenship due to complicated processes and long waiting times
Between 2019 and 2020 (under the Trump Administration) naturalizations decreased by 26% and the number of green cards issued decreased by 23%

B2B

B2C

Sources: 5 of the Hardest Countries for Obtaining Citizenship (Investopedia); Creating an Employment Immigration Strategy for the Future (SHRM); Quantifying the Impact of the Trump Administration on Immigration (New American Economy); Upskilling the Immigrant Workforce to Meet Employer Demand for Skilled Workers (The Urban Institute); Pitchbook

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

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Company Descriptions

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

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Digital health

Sources: Company websites; Pitchbook

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

Company	Description	Stage	Target demographic (if applicable)
Anise Health	Offers a combination of therapy, coaching, and digital tools which have been adapted to meet the unique needs of ethnic minorities	Early stage	Asian Americans
LingoHealth	Developer of a digital health platform designed for seniors and family caregivers in their preferred language and cultural context. The company's platform enables families to better support their aging loved ones' health, with a focus on those who speak a language other than English, providing immigrant patients a better tool to engage in care	Seed
SameSky Health	Developer of a patient engagement platform intended to connect payers, providers, and health systems with their multicultural Medicare patient populations	Series B
Welcome Tech	Operator of mobile and digital technology platform designed to provide data-driven services for immigrant communities	Series B	Latinx immigrants

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Edtech - English language learning (ELL)

Sources: Company websites; Pitchbook

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

Company	Description	Stage	Target demographic (if applicable)
EnglishCentral	The company's platform offers videos as per a goal, topic, or difficulty level for users to watch and study the English language as well as through word-based playlists for various usage examples, enabling users to record videos in their own voice, compare their speech to native speakers and get pronunciation feedback.	Series C
Immigo	Developer of a micro-schools platform for where learners can go through a structured English cohort with a cohort of peers	Seed
Welcome Tech	Operator of mobile and digital technology platform designed to provide data-driven services for immigrant communities	Series B	Latinx immigrants

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Edtech - workforce development

Sources: Company websites; Pitchbook

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

Company	Description	Stage	Target demographic (if applicable)
Aprende Institute	Developer of an online education software designed to offer vocational skills training in the US Hispanic market and LATAM. The company's platform offers a wide range of online training courses and diploma that assists their students to acquire skills needed to start their own business or a new career in areas of high demand, enabling students to earn extra income.	Series A	Latinx immigrants
Opus	Opus is a mobile-first, multilingual training platform designed for businesses that employ the 110M deskless employees in US.	Seed
Platzi	Provider of online professional education services intended to teach in-demand skills. The company's services include live-streaming classes through its platform on inspiring design, marketing, business, and programming courses from professionals with real-time collaboration among pupils and industry leaders as teachers, enabling students to stay up-to-date with the current market needs.	Series B	Latinx immigrants

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Edtech - ELL and workforce development

Sources: Company websites; Pitchbook

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

Company	Description	Stage	Target demographic (if applicable)
EnGen	Operator of an English language learning and training platform intended to serve immigrants and refugees to achieve self-sufficiency and economic mobility; spun out of Voxy	Series A
Lingo Live	Developer of a skills-based coaching program designed to assist employees to gain the skills they need to contribute to their unique potential in the workplace	Series A
Slang	Provider of digital professional development services intended to help master English required for career and other purposes	Series A

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Fintech (1 of 3)

Sources: Company websites; Pitchbook

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

Company	Description	Stage	Target demographic (if applicable)
Alterna	Developer of cross-border mobile wallet designed to address the financial inclusion of unbanked, underbanked and low-income U.S. immigrants and their families back home in Mexico, Latin America and Puerto Rico	Early stage	Latinx immigrants
Coco Mercado	Provider of alternative payment services intended to help Venezuelan migrants	Angel	Venezuelan immigrants
Crediverso	Developer of personal finance platform designed to provide financial tools and information for financial literacy	Seed	Latinx immigrants
Cheese	Provider of banking and financial services intended to support underbanked communities. Offers digital banking services and debit cards to customers without any credit history or SSN	Seed	Asian Americans
Finhabits	Provider of an investment advisory application designed to make quality financial services and education inclusive	Series A	Latinx immigrants
Jasper	Provider of customized credit cards intended to offer digital services to students and new immigrants to the country	Series A
Kaoshi	Platform offering international money transfers such as remittance, investment, bill payment, merchandise financing, cash advance, and mortgages while upholding data security and transparency, enabling users to access financial services easily	Early stage	Nigerian immigrants

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Fintech (2 of 3)

Sources: Company websites; Pitchbook

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

Company	Description	Stage	Target demographic (if applicable)
Kinly	Platform focused on improving financial livelihood through financial education, Black-focused spending, and wealth building	N/A	Black Americans
Lemonade Finance	Provides users with a bank account in both their country of residence as well as in their country of origin to support their personal & business banking needs	Accelerator	Immigrants from Nigeria, Ghana, or Kenya
Majority	Offers a membership account, debit card, money transfers, international calls, and more, thereby providing the immigrant community with tools, resources, and support to thrive in a new country	Series A
Miren	Empowers community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and credit unions to evaluate the best borrowers without observing credit scores.	Early stage
Moneymie	Offers digital banking service for migrants with a focus on black people and provides products including dollar accounts, cross border transfers, savings and investment products	Seed	African immigrants
Nova Credit	Helps newcomers to the United States build their credit history, offering them an easier way to pursue their vital and professional goals in the United States	Series B
OKY	Allows sending prepaid gift vouchers by adding balance with cash in a nearby point of service or using debit or credit card and choosing the brand and product to send, helping customers connect with their friends and family	Series A	Immigrants from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Argentina

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Fintech (3 of 3)

Sources: Company websites; Pitchbook

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

Company	Description	Stage	Target demographic (if applicable)
Prepay Nation	Cross-border network that connects mobile network operators and retail distributors for the sale of international mobile airtime of immigrants and expats	N/A
Quontic	Operator of a digital bank intended to specialize in providing traditional banking services with adaptive lending and innovative deposit products. Enables entrepreneurs, immigrants, millennials, low-income families, and seniors to have access to various deposits products and flexible lending opportunities.	Series A
Stilt	Predicts the credit worthiness of immigrants with limited or zero credit history to offers short-term loans to expatriates and non-citizens at low-interest rates, enabling them to access capital and build credit	Series A
Vesti Technologies	Developer of peer-to-peer (P2P) payment platform designed to provide neo banking for migrants. The company's system solves financial peer-to-peer payments and migration-related fees settlement, enabling users to move from one place to another easily.	Seed
Welcome Tech	Operator of mobile and digital technology platform designed to provide data-driven services for immigrant communities. Leverages proprietary data and information engine with recommendation algorithms to provide relevant customized services across sectors	Series B	Latinx Immigrants

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Legal tech - B2B

Sources: Company websites; Pitchbook

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

Company	Description	Stage	Target demographic (if applicable)
Bridge Immigration	Developer of a corporate immigration platform designed to fully manage companies’ immigration policies and needs. Offers consultation and guidance to fill out American immigration application form and helps companies to execute efficient and organized immigration processes	Seed
FastVisa	Developer of an online platform designed to streamline immigration visa preparation processes	Accelerator
LaborLess	Enables people to easily post electronic LCAs for H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3 hires, create corresponding electronic PAFs, and comply with U.S. Department of Labor regulations	Bootstrapped
MobilityEmpowered	Developer of a Talent Mobility platform intended to provide an end-to-end solution to relocate talent. Collects all necessary new hire forms in one place, including HR, payroll, immigration, taxes, benefits information and travel logistics, enabling organizations to relocate their talent through a solitary focus on empowering customers with the proper relocation solutions.	Angel
YoTengo Bot	Developer of a chatbot designed to automate the interactions between immigration law firms and clients	Seed

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Legal tech - B2C

Sources: Company websites; Pitchbook

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

Company	Description	Stage	Target demographic (if applicable)
AsisVisa	Operator of a web based platform designed to make immigrants prepare and file their immigration applications with automated legal guidance	Accelerator	Latinx immigrants
Boundless	Provides immigrants with the tools, information, and personalized support to access immigration lawyers and file online	Series B
Formally	Developer of an intuitive form-filler for immigration and citizenship papers designed to increase access to justice through automation and accessible design	Seed
Lawfully	Provides case tracking, case analysis, mock interview, legal consultation, and community activities by utilizing big data and AI analytics, providing users with personalized immigration guidance	Seed
Onlinevisas	Brings market-leading immigration legal services together with powerful new technology to deliver more visa approvals without increased costs	Seed
PassRight	Provider of immigration management services intended to offer transparent process insight for the visa approval process	Seed

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Additional resources - venture capital

Sources: Company websites

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

Company	Description	Target demographic (if applicable)
1863 Fund	Fund focused on financing BIPOC & women owned brands	BIPOC and women
Born Global Ventures	Invests in early stage tech startups led by resilient immigrant entrepreneurs
Fearless Fund	Invests in women of color led businesses	Women of color
Gold House (Gold Rush and Gold Ventures)	Asian and Pacific Islander-focused fund and accelerator	Asian Americans
Harlem Capital	Invests in minority and women founders across several different industries	Minorities and women
Hyphen Capital	Provides Asian Americans with funding and a network of fellow founders, corporate executives, lawyers and professionals who help portfolio companies succeed	Asian Americans
LAT VC	Focused on investing in Latino-owned, early-stage companies with high-growth potential	Latinx
One Way Ventures	One Way Ventures is on a mission to break down borders, starting by funding exceptional immigrant founders	Immigrants
Overlooked Ventures	Invests in founders who operate early-stage technology companies and have historically been overlooked	Minorities and women
Unshackled Ventures	Immigrant-founded VC firm that invests in immigrant founders. Unshackled sponsor visas, provides full immigration support, and a community of resources	Immigrants

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Additional resources - nonprofits (1 of 2)

Sources: Company websites

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

Company	Description	Target demographic (if applicable)
Asian Health Services	Provides health, social, and advocacy services for all regardless of income, insurance status, immigration status, language, or culture	Asian diaspora
Center for Care Innovations	Strengthening the health and health care of underserved communities
Charles B. Wang Community Health Center	Provides high quality and affordable healthcare to all, building on our heritage of success in caring for underserved Asian Americans	Asian diaspora
Immigrant History Initiative	Works with families, schools, and organizations to share immigrant history and design thoughtful, anti-racist programs and workshops	Asian diaspora
ImmSchools	Immigrant-led nonprofit partnering with educators and community leaders to ensure safe and inclusive schools for undocumented and mixed-status students and families
LifeLong Medical Care	Serves 66,000+ individuals of all ages in California each year with medical, dental and/or social services. Welcomes all, regardless of ability to pay or immigration status
National Partnership for New Americans	NPNA exists to advance an immigrant equity and inclusion agenda at the state, local and federal level through policy, advocacy, and service programs that create vast opportunities for immigrant and refugee communities to achieve full civic, social and economic justice.

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Additional resources - nonprofits (2 of 2)

Sources: Company websites

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

Company	Description	Target demographic (if applicable)
Upwardly Global	Eliminating employment barriers for immigrant and refugee professionals and advancing the inclusion of their skills into the U.S. economy
Welcoming America	Helps communities develop the roadmap they need to create welcoming policies and share new approaches to inclusion to create an environment where everyone can truly thrive

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Additional resources - miscellaneous

Sources: Company websites

Created by Rebecca Liu (@rebeccaxliu)

Company	Description	Target demographic (if applicable)
Beautiful Country (book by Qian Julie Wang)	A moving memoir of an undocumented child who immigrates to the U.S. and lives in poverty
Parents are Human (card game)	Parents Are Human is a bilingual connection card game designed to spark deep conversations between you and your loved ones. Each deck contains 70 increasingly deep prompts, with two difficulty levels, to inspire connection, compassion, and vulnerability.
The Undocumented Americans (book by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio)	One of the first undocumented immigrants to graduate from Harvard reveals the hidden lives of her fellow undocumented Americans in this deeply personal and groundbreaking portrait of a nation.
We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story (book by Simu Liu)	In this honest, inspiring and relatable memoir, newly-minted superhero Simu Liu chronicles his family's journey from China to the bright lights of Hollywood with razor-sharp wit and humor.