Indian-origin business leaders now head companies worth a combined $15 trillion. That is a rise of 53% since 2024.
The HSBC Hurun Global Indians List 2026 was released on Thursday, November 12. It counts 236 Indian-origin leaders.
They head 200 of the world's most valuable companies based outside India.
To enter the list, a company must now be worth at least $2.5 billion. In 2024, the minimum was $1.2 billion.
Key points
- 236 Indian-origin leaders head 200 companies outside India.
- Their combined valuation is $15 trillion, up from $9.9 trillion in 2024.
- AI-driven companies make up 71% of the list's total value.
- Only 16 of the 236 leaders are women.
Who tops the list this year?
Sundar Pichai, the chief executive of Alphabet, ranks first. Alphabet is the parent company of Google.
It is valued at $4.2 trillion, up 98% since 2024.
Satya Nadella of Microsoft ranks second, at $2.6 trillion. Sanjay Mehrotra of Micron Technology is third, at $1.4 trillion.
$ trillion
Graphic: News Anek, from the facts in this report
Neal Mohan of YouTube and Thomas Kurian of Google Cloud complete the top five.
Together, these five companies account for about 61% of the total value.
So why is AI such a big part of this?
Valuation means the total market value that investors place on a company.
The report says 103 companies are AI-driven or AI-integrated. Together they are valued at $10.7 trillion.
AI also appears as its own industry for the first time. Its 18 companies are worth $227 billion in total.
Among start-ups, Cursor leads with a $60 billion valuation. Prometheus is at $41 billion, and Perplexity is at $20 billion.
What does this mean for India?
Anas Rahman Junaid, founder and chief researcher at Hurun India, said the trend has changed.
For decades, it was called a brain drain, meaning talent leaving the country. Now he calls it a brain bridge.
58% of the leaders finished their undergraduate studies in India. IIT Delhi produced the most of them.
The 200 companies employ about 5.3 million people.
In 2025, they earned $2.5 trillion in revenue and $416 billion in net profit.
Startup Story
The story so far
- The start: The combined value of these companies rose from $9.9 trillion in 2024 to $15 trillion in 2026.
- The turn: AI-driven or AI-integrated companies now make up $10.7 trillion, or 71% of the list's total value.
- Now: The list has 236 leaders, and the minimum valuation to be included has risen to $2.5 billion.
One lesson
Businesses that build AI tools or use them well are where much of the new value is being created, so learn how AI fits your work.
The numbers
| Combined valuation of listed companies, 2026 | $15 trillion (Source: HSBC Hurun Global Indians List 2026) |
|---|---|
| Growth in combined valuation since 2024 | 53% (Source: HSBC Hurun Global Indians List 2026) |
| Alphabet valuation | $4.2 trillion (Source: HSBC Hurun Global Indians List 2026) |
| Employees of the 200 companies | about 5.3 million (Source: HSBC Hurun Global Indians List 2026) |
This is general information from news reports, not financial or investment advice.
