Openbadges
Openbadges.me, operated by MyKnowledgeMap, is a UK-based digital credentialing platform built on the 1EdTech Open Badges Specification. It enables educational institutions, professional bodies, government agencies, and corporate L&D teams to issue, automate, and verify portable digital badges via SaaS, APIs, and LMS integrations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersYork, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Openbadges does
Openbadges.me is a cloud-based digital credentialing platform that enables organizations to create, issue, manage, and verify digital badges compliant with the Open Badges Specification maintained by 1EdTech (formerly IMS Global Learning Consortium). The platform is operated by MyKnowledgeMap, a private UK technology company headquartered in York, and has been part of the Open Badges standard's development since its early concept at IMS Global / Mozilla. The product surface includes a web-based badge authoring and issuing console, a free individual 'backpack' digital wallet, an online badge design tool, and an Advanced Badge Issuing REST API with an Events Service that records user activity events and applies custom rules to trigger automatic badge issuance. The platform integrates with Google Forms and Sheets via Chrome add-ons, and connects via API to LMS, SSO, HRIS, ePortfolio, MIS, and ILR systems used in Further Education and corporate learning environments.
The company's go-to-market combines a product-led growth self-service model (free individual backpack, Team and Embrace subscription plans for organizational issuers) with a sales-assisted enterprise motion for larger customers requiring custom integrations. Revenue streams consist of recurring SaaS subscriptions and professional services for implementation and bespoke development. Customers span Further Education colleges, universities (e.g., Cal Poly), professional membership bodies (Institute of Leadership, Chartered Institute of Environmental Health), government and regulated bodies (NABP across all 50 US states, NSAN for the UK nuclear industry, UK Government's Year of Engineering campaign), and workforce development nonprofits (Unionlearn). Vertical solutions are packaged for FE colleges, corporate L&D, professional body CPD, pharmacy accreditation, and skills-based hiring.
The operating entity is a 1-10 employee private UK business with no disclosed funding rounds, no parent company, and no public listing. Distribution is direct via openbadges.me and through API/OEM channels to LMS and enterprise system integrators; the company is also a documented partner in the 1EdTech Open Badges standards ecosystem.
Openbadges firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Openbadges
- Legal name
- MyKnowledgeMap
- Website
- https://openbadges.me
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Openbadges.me, operated by MyKnowledgeMap, is a UK-based digital credentialing platform built on the 1EdTech Open Badges Specification. It enables educational institutions, professional bodies, government agencies, and corporate L&D teams to issue, automate, and verify portable digital badges via SaaS, APIs, and LMS integrations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Openbadges industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Credentialing Platform
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Transcript, Score Reporting & Verification/Credential Wallet Platforms (EDAFADAO)
Keywords
Where Openbadges is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- York
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Openbadges business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Subscription SaaS: Tiered subscription plans (Team and Embrace plans mentioned) providing platform access for badge issuing, API usage, integrations, and admin features. Pricing scales with organization size or usage volume.
- Professional Services: Implementation support, custom development, and onboarding services for enterprise clients requiring bespoke integrations or dedicated assistance.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free individual backpack account |
| Subscription | Annual | Team and Embrace organizational plans |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Openbadges product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Openbadges.me is a cloud-based digital credentialing platform that enables organizations to create, issue, manage, and verify Open Badges compliant with the 1EdTech Open Badges Specification. It provides a web-based issuing console, a free digital Backpack wallet for recipients, badge design tools, and a REST API for programmatic and rules-based automated badge issuance. The platform is sold to education institutions, corporate L&D teams, professional membership bodies, and regulatory organizations.
Product overview
Openbadges.me is a digital credentialing platform powered by MyKnowledgeMap that provides a comprehensive suite of tools for issuing, managing, and verifying Open Badges compliant with the Open Badges Specification. The core platform (Openbadges.me) serves as the primary product, offering web-based badge issuance, a free digital backpack for recipients, badge creation tools, and an Advanced Badge Issuing API for programmatic integration. The platform connects via API, add-ons, and plugins to third-party systems including LMS platforms, SSO providers, HRIS systems, Google Forms/Sheets, ePortfolio platforms, and MIS/ILR systems. Specialized vertical solutions include Skills Assured for nuclear industry credentialing, MyLeadership for leadership development, digital credentials for FE colleges, L&D enterprise solutions, professional body CPD systems, pharmacy accreditation badges (NABP), and skills-based hiring solutions for educational institutions.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Openbadges.me Platform Web-based platform for issuing, managing, and verifying digital credentials (Open Badges) compliant with the Open Badges Specification. Organizations can create badge issuers, design badge graphics, define criteria, and issue verifiable credentials to recipients.
- Digital Backpack Free digital wallet utility provided to each user for storing, managing, and displaying earned digital badges. Users can format how and where their badges are displayed, and import badges earned from other issuers to build comprehensive credential portfolios.
- Advanced Badge Issuing API REST API enabling programmatic badge issuance and management for developers. Supports direct single badge issuance, bulk event-based issuance, rules-based automated issuing based on custom event logic, and reporting endpoints for rules, completions, and badge recipients. Requires Team or Embrace plan.
- Events Service Event-driven rules engine that records user activities and events into a database, applies custom rules to those events, and triggers badge issuance when conditions are satisfied. Organizations define their own event codes and set up simple or complex badge issuing logic.
- Digital Badge Creation Tools Online tools for creating professional digital badges without graphic design expertise. Provides templates, icons, customization options for colors, shapes, and text, and export options (PNG, SVG) with direct badge issuing capability.
- Skills Assured Platform Bespoke e-learning portal and innovative online system developed by MyKnowledgeMap for NSAN (National Skills Academy Nuclear) that assesses, verifies, and records individual competence, training and qualifications against industry-agreed competence frameworks, integrated with Openbadges.me for digital credentialing of nuclear industry learners.
- MyLeadership eLearning Platform Award-winning eLearning platform by The Institute of Leadership and Management for bite-size leadership courses, featuring integrated digital credential issuance automatically upon course test/assessment completion. Credentials contain criteria, direct links to the Institute website, and can be shared on LinkedIn and professional profiles.
Quantifiable outcome
- Organisations that introduce digital credentials alongside existing learning programmes report measurable increases in completion rates
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Openbadges
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Openbadges technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration8 records
Feature5 records
Openbadges partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered key client, notable and core.
- NSAN (National Skills Academy Nuclear)key clientNSAN partnered with MyKnowledgeMap/Openbadges.me to provide digital badging for nuclear industry training through Skills Assured platform. Learners completing NSAN courses receive digital badges highlighting achievements.
- The Institute of Leadership and Managementkey clientInstitute adopted Openbadges.me for member credentialing and MyLeadership eLearning platform. Digital credentials issued automatically upon course completion and shared on LinkedIn for professional recognition.
- Year of Engineering / 23RednotableUK government initiative (Year of Engineering) adopted Openbadges.me for 'Holiday Makers' campaign digital badge journal. 23Red agency implemented the platform for summer 2018 program reaching children aged 7-16.
- 1EdTech (IMS Global Learning Consortium)coreFounding partnership in Open Badges specification development. Openbadges.me has been part of the development of Open Badges since its early concept by IMS Global Learning Consortium, now known as 1EdTech. Platform is certified to Open Badges standards ensuring interoperability.
- NABP (National Association of Boards of Pharmacy)key clientNABP adopted Openbadges.me platform to distribute digital credentials verifying pharmacy business accreditation across all 50 US states. Credentials displayed on pharmacy business websites, blogs, and social media.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Openbadges competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- MyKnowledgeMap: MyKnowledgeMap is the operating parent of Openbadges.me, providing the digital credentialing technology and bespoke e-learning platforms that share customer accounts and developer resources.
- 1EdTech (IMS Global): 1EdTech is the standards body that maintains the Open Badges Specification and certifies compliant platforms like Openbadges.me; it is an ecosystem enabler rather than a direct competitor but shapes the competitive landscape.
Direct peers
- Parchment: Parchment (Instructure) is a credential verification and digital certificate platform serving higher education and workforce customers, competing directly with Openbadges.me on verifiable credentials and learner records.
- Credly: Credly (Pearson) operates a leading digital credentialing platform built on the Open Badges standard, directly competing with Openbadges.me in workforce skills verification, education, and professional membership use cases.
- Accredible: Accredible is a digital credentialing platform issuing Open Badges-compliant certificates and badges to education providers, professional bodies, and enterprises, overlapping closely with Openbadges.me's core segments.
- Canvas Credentials: Canvas Credentials (Instructure) provides a digital badge and certificate platform purpose-built for higher education, serving many of the same further-education and university customers targeted by Openbadges.me.
- BadgeCert: BadgeCert is an Open Badges-compliant credential management platform targeting education institutions and corporate learning teams, comparable to Openbadges.me in technology stack and customer segments.
Emerging players
- Sertifier: Sertifier is a digital credentialing SaaS for education and corporate L&D teams issuing Open Badges-compliant certificates, addressing the same mid-market and education customers as Openbadges.me with a more recent market entry.
Broad incumbents
- Coursera: Coursera issues its own shareable, verifiable credentials and certificates for online courses, making it a broad incumbent competitor for the same education and corporate L&D buyers Openbadges.me serves.
- LinkedIn Learning: LinkedIn Learning is a broad incumbent in workforce learning and credentialing that surfaces and validates skills through LinkedIn profiles, making it both a distribution channel and a potential competitive threat to Openbadges.me.
Market position
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks4 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Openbadges social profiles
Digital presenceOpenbadges financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Openbadges leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Openbadges funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Openbadges 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 Openbadges
What does Openbadges do?
Openbadges.me is a cloud-based digital credentialing platform that enables organizations to create, issue, manage, and verify Open Badges compliant with the 1EdTech Open Badges Specification. It provides a web-based issuing console, a free digital Backpack wallet for recipients, badge design tools, and a REST API for programmatic and rules-based automated badge issuance. The platform is sold to education institutions, corporate L&D teams, professional membership bodies, and regulatory organizations.
Is Openbadges a public or private company?
Openbadges is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Openbadges founded?
Openbadges was founded in 2016. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Openbadges based?
Openbadges is headquartered in York, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Openbadges make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Subscription SaaS are the primary driver. The others are professional Services.
Who are Openbadges's main competitors?
Others on record are MyKnowledgeMap and 1EdTech (IMS Global). Direct peers are Parchment, Credly, Accredible, Canvas Credentials and BadgeCert. Sertifier is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Coursera and LinkedIn Learning.
Does Openbadges have an API?
Yes. Openbadges.me provides a set of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) for badge issuing. The Events API supports direct issuing of specific badges to recipients and automatic event-driven rules-based badge issuing. API endpoints include: /api/ActivityEvents for single event creation, /api/ActivityEvents/bulk for bulk event creation, /api/rule for retrieving organization rules, /api/rule/{id}/completions for rule completion data, and /api/ActivityEvents/entries for badge recipient reporting. Developers can set up API keys and authentication tokens from the API keys section within System settings. All API service calls are made to https://events.openbadges.me. Developer guide and Swagger documentation available at https://events.openbadges.me/swagger/index.html?url=/swagger/v1/swagger.json. Developer documentation is at events.openbadges.me/swagger/index.html?url=/swagger/v1/swagger.json.
What industry is Openbadges in?
Openbadges's product category is Digital Credentialing Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAFADAO, Transcript, Score Reporting & Verification/Credential Wallet Platforms. Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.