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Indian Americans make a mark on Forbes 250 Innovators list
From venture capital to gene therapy and AI, Indian American innovators rank across sectors, shaping the future of technology, finance, healthcare, and cybersecurity.
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Anushka Pathak - Tue, 24, Feb 2026
- 12:45 EST
- 147
1st row L-R: Vinod Khosla, Shiv Rao, Neha Narkhade; 2nd row L-R: Suma Krishnan, Shan Sinha, Naval Ravikant; 3rd row L-R: Shivani Siroya, Sangeeta Bhatia, Jay Chaudhry; Upper right: Baiju Bhatt; Lower right: Aman Narang / Courtesy: Forbes/LinkedIn/Wikipedia
Eleven Indian Americans have been named to the Forbes 250: America’s Greatest Innovators list, published ahead of America’s 250th anniversary to recognize Americans leading innovation across fields.
The list recognizes 250 innovators across technology, biotechnology, cybersecurity, fintech, and related fields, selected for disruption and measurable market impact. Forbes noted strong representation from immigrant founders and leaders on the list.
ALSO READ: Five Indian Americans on TIME100 Health 2026
Vinod Khosla leads the Indian American cohort at no. 10. The 70-year-old co-founded Sun Microsystems, a pioneer in network computing during the 1980s, and later established Khosla Ventures. His firm has invested early in high-growth companies, including Square, DoorDash, and OpenAI, focusing on high-risk, high-reward technologies.
Suma Krishnan ranked no. 127. The 60-year-old founder and president of Krystal Biotech, Inc., is recognized for developing the first topical gene therapy approved for treating skin diseases. Her work centers on pharmaceutical product development, particularly rare genetic disorders.
Jay Chaudhry placed no. 128 for advancing zero-trust architecture in cybersecurity. As CEO, chairman, and founder of Zscaler, Inc., he built a major cloud security platform.
Neha Narkhede ranked no. 155 for developing data infrastructure supporting AI-driven internet systems. She co-founded Confluent, commercializing Apache Kafka, and now serves as co-founder and CEO of Oscilar, focused on real-time data streaming technologies.
Sangeeta Bhatia ranked no. 161 for integrating microchip technology with biology to enhance drug discovery safety and precision. A professor and entrepreneur at MIT, she pioneered engineered tissues and liver models used in preclinical testing.
Aman Narang placed no. 177 for transforming restaurant operations. As co-founder and CEO of Toast, he built a point-of-sale and management platform widely used for payments, ordering, and analytics.
Baiju Bhatt ranked no. 183 for co-founding Robinhood and expanding commission-free retail investing. He now leads Aetherflux, pursuing space-based solar power initiatives.
Shan Sinha placed no. 202. After architecting cloud-based collaboration tools, he founded Rubrik, focused on data management and cyber resilience, and is now working on healthcare safety technologies.
Naval Ravikant ranked no. 230 as co-founder of AngelList, a platform that broadened startup funding access and talent discovery.
Shiv Rao placed no. 235 for developing AI applications in healthcare. As CEO and co-founder of Abridge, he builds virtual assistants that automate medical documentation.
Shivani Siroya ranked no. 238 for expanding financial inclusion. As CEO and founder of Tala, she created a mobile lending platform using smartphone data to offer microloans to underbanked populations.
Forbes said the list celebrates innovators whose work reflects significant commercial and societal influence. These Indian American innovators rank across sectors, such as venture capital, gene therapy, AI, technology, finance, healthcare, and cybersecurity.
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