Open-IX

What Open-IX does

Open-IX Association (OIX) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit trade association founded in 2013 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that develops vendor-neutral standards and operates certification programs for digital interconnection infrastructure. The organization issues three certification marks — OIX-1 for Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), OIX-2 for data centers, and OIX-3 for edge facilities — each signifying compliance with community-developed benchmarks for governance, operations, engineering readiness, and fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) practices. OIX also publishes a portfolio of decision frameworks, including the Digital Infrastructure Decision Framework, IXP Feasibility Assessment Guide, Data Center Site Selection Framework, and Infrastructure Governance Maturity Model, plus the Digital Infrastructure Framework (DIFC) for community-level technology planning.

The technology underlying OIX is its open Document Development Process (DDP), maintained via GitHub and Slack, through which network operators, data center providers, and other stakeholders collaboratively evolve standards. OIX does not sell software, APIs, or proprietary technology; its product is the certification mark and the associated framework documentation. As of late 2025, 29 organizations across 7 countries are OIX-certified, and the consortium includes 150+ active individual members and 50+ member organizations representing 25+ countries.

Revenue is generated through two primary streams: tiered certification fees billed per location (ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 annually, with a $100 non-profit rate for qualifying exchanges) and a four-tier Consortium Partnership Program ($2,500 to $10,000 annually) for vendors, cloud providers, IXPs, and technology enablers. Individual and organizational membership remains free. Distribution is self-serve via the oix.org application portal, supplemented by direct outreach for consortium partnerships. Leadership is provided by a volunteer board (Chris Grundemann as Chair, Phil Koblence as Vice Chair, and additional directors) with a recently appointed Program Manager & Administrator managing day-to-day operations.

Name

Open-IX

Legal name

OIX Association

Website

https://oix.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

OIX Association is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit trade association that develops vendor-neutral certification standards (OIX-1, OIX-2, OIX-3) and decision frameworks for internet exchange points, data centers, and edge facilities serving operators, investors, and policymakers worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Internet Infrastructure Standards

NAICS

Other Computer Related Services (541519), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518210)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) & Peering Services (HDABALAC)

Keywords

• Internet exchange certification
• Data center standards
• Edge facility certification
• Interconnection frameworks
• Digital infrastructure standards

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Certification Fees: OIX generates revenue through certification fees for IXPs and data centers. Fees are tiered by organization size: up to 35 members ($1,000/location), 36-75 members ($2,500), and 76+ members ($5,000 annually per location). Non-profit certification available for $100 application fee.
2. Consortium Partnership Program: Tiered partnership program offering vendor, data center, IXP, cloud provider, and technology enabler positioning. Participation levels range from Supporter ($2,500) to Premier Industry Leader ($10,000), providing branding, press inclusion, committee participation, and content visibility.
3. Membership (Currently Free): Individual and organizational membership is currently free. Members gain access to certified community network, events, standards development participation, voting rights, directory listing, and priority access to frameworks and research.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

Open-IX is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit industry association that develops and administers vendor-neutral technical and operational certification programs for digital infrastructure assets, including OIX-1 for Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), OIX-2 for Data Centers, and OIX-3 for Edge facilities. It also publishes community-built decision frameworks (IXP, CaaS, Meta IXP, DGX) and convenes the Open-IX Forum at ITW to drive industry consensus on interconnection and infrastructure standards.

Product overview

OIX (Open Infrastructure Exchange) is a vendor-neutral 501(c)(6) trade association that operates as a standards organization rather than a traditional software company. Its portfolio consists primarily of certification programs (OIX-1 for IXPs, OIX-2 for Data Centers, and OIX-3 for Edge facilities) that verify compliance with community-developed standards for governance, operations, and engineering excellence. These certifications are complemented by a suite of decision frameworks including the Digital Infrastructure Decision Framework, IXP Feasibility Assessment Guide, Data Center Site Selection Framework, Interconnection Strategy Playbook, and Infrastructure Governance Maturity Model. The organization also provides educational resources through its Knowledge Base and operates the Digital Infrastructure Framework (DIFC) for community planning. A consortium partnership program offers four tiers of industry participation, and all standards are developed through an open, transparent Document Development Process (DDP) involving the global network engineering community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• OIX-1 (IXP Certification)
• OIX-2 (Data Center Certification)
• OIX-3 (Edge Certification)
• IXP Decision Framework
• CaaS Decision Framework
• Meta IXP Decision Framework
• DGX Decision Framework
• Open-IX Forum at ITW

Quantifiable outcome

• Standards implemented across 7 countries
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Open Compute Project Foundation (OCP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 October 2025OCP and OIX formed a strategic alliance to develop a unified, co-branded open standard that harmonizes the OIX-2 data center standard with OCP Ready v2 for hyperscale requirements. The collaboration focuses on metro-edge facilities to simplify implementation for data center operators facilitating massive scale interconnection between networks for hyperscale users. The new standard will inform all market constituents of basic requirements to serve hyperscale interconnection on a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory basis.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Strengths4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/Open-IX/BCOP
• Xx.com/OpenIXNA
• Facebookfacebook.com/OpenIXAssociation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/open-ix-association

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Open-IX