ThinkOnward
ThinkOnward is a Shell-backed open talent platform connecting energy and natural resource enterprises with curated geoscience, data science, and AI experts for short-term projects, crowdsourced challenges, and targeted bounties delivered via a secure cloud environment.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersAustin, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What ThinkOnward does
ThinkOnward, operated by Think Onward LLC (a Shell subsidiary incorporated in Texas), is an open talent and open innovation platform that connects energy and natural resource companies with curated external experts for specialized geoscience, data science, and AI projects. Founded in 2020 and based in Austin with a Houston registered office, the company employs 51-100 people and serves enterprise clients in the oil, gas, and broader energy sector globally. Its core technology is a secure, SOC 2 Type II-compliant cloud collaboration platform (XCover) featuring virtual workstations preloaded with datasets and industry-standard software, enabling vetted experts to execute projects remotely.
The business operates three primary service lines: Onward Projects (1-6 month consulting engagements, typically 3-8 months in duration), Onward Challenges (crowdsourced data science competitions with prizes ranging from $2,000 to $60,000), and Onward Bounties (targeted short-cycle tasks). Adjacent product modules include the Innovation Lab (R&D for large-scale energy challenges), ThinkOnward Ventures (startup support in climate tech and energy), LLM Benchmarks (evaluation framework for energy-domain AI), and a Sandbox practice environment. The platform supports AI/ML work across computer vision, structured data analytics, NLP, and multimodal subsurface interpretation.
Revenue is generated through project-based professional services fees paid by enterprise sponsors; pricing is not publicly disclosed. The go-to-market combines direct enterprise field sales with a community-led model that curates a global network of geoscientists, data scientists, researchers, AI specialists, and other domain experts. The company has executed 125 projects across at least ten operating geographies (including the US Gulf Coast, North Sea, Offshore Brazil, Middle East, West Africa, Offshore Malaysia, Nile Delta, and Australia) and is supported by partnerships with Shell and Innovation Lab technology providers.
ThinkOnward firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ThinkOnward
- Legal name
- Think Onward LLC
- Website
- https://thinkonward.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- ThinkOnward is a Shell-backed open talent platform connecting energy and natural resource enterprises with curated geoscience, data science, and AI experts for short-term projects, crowdsourced challenges, and targeted bounties delivered via a secure cloud environment.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ThinkOnward industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Energy Innovation Services
- NAICS
- Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (541360), Computer Systems Design Services (541512)
- SIC
- Oil & Gas Field Exploration Services (1382), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Data, Analytics & AI Consulting (BPAHAEAF)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Recommendation & Discovery Engines (content/product) (BPAMAAAG)
Keywords
Where ThinkOnward is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Austin
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
ThinkOnward business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Project-Based Consulting: Short-term paid opportunities (1-6 months, typically 3-8 months) for specialized expertise where sponsors pay for access to curated technical specialists from geoscience and data science domains. ThinkOnward manages the entire process from expert selection to final delivery.
- Data Science Contests (Challenges): Crowdsourced data science competitions where organizations sponsor challenges with prize money. Problem-solvers from diverse domains compete to deliver breakthrough solutions faster and at lower costs. Prize amounts range from $2,000 to $60,000 per challenge.
- Bounties: Fast, targeted tasks organized around a theme for gathering data sources, generating code, or solving specific problems in shorter time frames with prize money.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
ThinkOnward product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ThinkOnward runs an open talent and open innovation platform that connects energy and natural resource companies with curated external experts (geoscientists, data scientists, AI specialists) for short-term paid projects, data science contests, and targeted bounties. The platform (XCover) manages expert selection, secure cloud-based collaboration, and end-to-end delivery of subsurface, geoscience, and AI/ML projects on behalf of enterprise sponsors. Supporting offerings include an Innovation Lab for large-scale R&D, a Ventures program for energy/climate-tech startups, and LLM Benchmarks for AI evaluation.
Product overview
ThinkOnward is an open talent and open innovation platform for the energy industry that connects organizations with external experts for specialized projects and crowdsourced solutions. The core platform (XCover) enables access to three main service offerings: Onward Projects (short-term paid geoscience and data science opportunities), Onward Challenges (crowdsourced data science competitions with prizes), and Onward Bounties (targeted tasks for problem-solving). The platform is augmented by the Innovation Lab for R&D on major energy challenges, the Ventures program for startup support, and LLM Benchmarks for AI evaluation. The Sandbox environment provides practice space for skill development. Projects are executed via secure cloud-based virtual workstations with preloaded datasets and industry software, while challenges attract diverse talent including physicists, AI specialists, and data scientists who compete to solve tough energy problems.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Onward Projects Short-term paid engagements (typically 1-6 months, often 3-8 months) that deliver specialized geoscience and data science expertise to energy and natural resource companies. ThinkOnward identifies, vets, curates, and selects industry-leading technical specialists — from seismic processing experts to niche geological analysts — and delivers project work through a secure cloud environment with preloaded datasets and industry software.
- Onward Challenges Crowdsourced data science competitions in which individuals and teams submit AI/ML solutions to energy industry problems in exchange for prize money. Attracts problem-solvers from diverse domains including physicists, AI specialists, and data scientists who tackle tough problems from new angles to deliver breakthrough solutions faster and at lower cost.
- Onward Bounties Fast, targeted tasks organized around a theme for gathering data sources, generating code, or solving specific problems in shorter timeframes with prize money. Includes bounty boards that group multiple related tasks together for community members to claim and complete.
- XCover Platform The ThinkOnward digital platform providing a unified workspace to access projects, challenges, bounties, and learning materials. Features include discussion forums, leaderboards, project management tools, and cloud-based virtual workstations where Experts in Residence and challenge participants collaborate on client work.
- ThinkOnward Innovation Lab Dedicated research and development team tackling large-scale energy challenges that, if solved, could create transformative impact in the energy industry. Provides clients with ecosystem access to the latest AI/ML technology and cutting-edge tools through partnerships with leading-edge technology providers, addressing legacy systems, lengthy implementations, and risk-averse cultures that typically hinder access to new technology.
- LLM Benchmarks Evaluation framework and benchmarks for assessing large language model performance on energy industry use cases. Provides sponsors and technology providers with a structured way to compare and validate LLM behavior against domain-specific tasks in geoscience and energy.
- ThinkOnward Ventures Program supporting startups in climate tech and energy industries with funding, feedback, and guidance to accelerate innovation in the energy sector. Helps early-stage companies connect with ThinkOnward's energy ecosystem, expert network, and partner base.
Quantifiable outcome
- 98% cost reduction achieved in data science contest for voice recognition solution with 90% boost in detection precision
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use ThinkOnward
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
ThinkOnward technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability11 records
Feature3 records
ThinkOnward partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- ShellcoreThinkOnward is a collaborative endeavor created by Shell that brings together internal and external expertise, resources, and talent to create fresh ideas for a clean, sustainable energy future. Shell's position in the energy ecosystem and collaborations with leading-edge technology providers gives ThinkOnward access to transformative AI, machine learning, and digital solutions.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
ThinkOnward competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Kaggle: Google-owned crowdsourced data science competition platform. Directly comparable to ThinkOnward's Onward Challenges product, with broader ML community participation and a similar model of sponsored competitions with prize money, though less specialized in energy and geoscience.
- HeroX: Open innovation and crowdsourced challenge platform spun out of XPRIZE. Comparable to ThinkOnward in its challenge-and-bounty model for solving hard problems, though HeroX is more general-purpose and less vertically integrated with energy sector workflows.
- Innocentive (now Wazoku): Pioneer in crowdsourced problem-solving challenges for enterprises. Closely mirrors ThinkOnward's challenges and bounties model with prize-based competition to solve R&D and technical problems, but operates across many verticals rather than specializing in energy.
- Topcoder: Wipro-owned crowdsourced talent and competition platform for data science, design, and development. Directly comparable to ThinkOnward's open talent model and challenge format, but serves a broader technology stack rather than energy and geoscience specialists.
Emerging players
- DrivenData: Social impact-focused data science competition platform. Overlaps with ThinkOnward's challenges model, particularly around applying ML to environmental and resource problems, but with a non-profit/impact orientation and smaller scale.
Broad incumbents
- C3 AI: Enterprise AI software platform with significant energy industry penetration. Adjacent to ThinkOnward in delivering AI capabilities to oil & gas and utilities, but C3 AI sells packaged enterprise applications rather than crowdsourced expert consulting.
- Palantir Technologies: Enterprise data analytics and AI platform serving major energy companies. Comparable as a sophisticated AI/data infrastructure provider for energy and geoscience workflows, but Palantir sells software licenses rather than expert-led project services.
- TGS (now part of PGS/TGS combination): Multi-client geoscience data and analytics provider for the energy industry. Overlaps with ThinkOnward's subsurface data interpretation and exploration support services, but TGS primarily provides licensed data libraries rather than project-based expert teams.
- Slb (Schlumberger): Global oilfield services and digital technology company with major AI/ML capabilities for subsurface and exploration workflows. Provides integrated services similar to ThinkOnward's project-based model but at vastly greater scale and as part of a full-service oilfield offering.
Regional players
- Rystad Energy: Independent energy research and intelligence firm serving upstream oil & gas with data, analytics, and consulting. Comparable to ThinkOnward's subsurface and exploration advisory services for energy clients, but Rystad delivers insights via in-house analysts rather than crowdsourced experts.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
ThinkOnward social profiles
Digital presenceThinkOnward compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
ThinkOnward financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ThinkOnward leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
ThinkOnward funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ThinkOnward M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ThinkOnward
What does ThinkOnward do?
ThinkOnward runs an open talent and open innovation platform that connects energy and natural resource companies with curated external experts (geoscientists, data scientists, AI specialists) for short-term paid projects, data science contests, and targeted bounties. The platform (XCover) manages expert selection, secure cloud-based collaboration, and end-to-end delivery of subsurface, geoscience, and AI/ML projects on behalf of enterprise sponsors. Supporting offerings include an Innovation Lab for large-scale R&D, a Ventures program for energy/climate-tech startups, and LLM Benchmarks for AI evaluation.
Is ThinkOnward a public or private company?
ThinkOnward is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was ThinkOnward founded?
ThinkOnward was founded in 2020. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is ThinkOnward based?
ThinkOnward is headquartered in Austin, United States, in the North America region.
How does ThinkOnward make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Project-Based Consulting is the primary driver. The others are data Science Contests (Challenges) and bounties.
Who are ThinkOnward's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Kaggle, HeroX, Innocentive (now Wazoku) and Topcoder. DrivenData is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are C3 AI, Palantir Technologies, TGS (now part of PGS/TGS combination) and Slb (Schlumberger). Rystad Energy is listed as a regional player.
Does ThinkOnward have an API?
No public API is recorded for ThinkOnward.
What industry is ThinkOnward in?
ThinkOnward's product category is Energy Innovation Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAEAF, Data, Analytics & AI Consulting, with a secondary code of BPAMAAAG, Recommendation & Discovery Engines (content/product). Its NAICS code is 541360 and its SIC code is 1382.