What OpenIDEO does

OpenIDEO operates as IDEO's open innovation practice, founded in 2010 in San Francisco as a for-profit subsidiary of IDEO with 11-50 employees. Its core product is a custom web-based platform (challenges.openideo.com) that hosts multi-month, sponsor-funded open innovation challenges, complemented by ongoing Alliances (curated online communities such as the Food Waste Alliance), a volunteer Chapters network, and impact-focused convenings. The platform integrates IDEO's human-centered design methodology with structured phases (Research, Idea, Evaluation, Collaboration) tracked through a Design Quotient (DQ) measurement system and a custom mentor-matching algorithm. Each challenge is bespoke, typically spanning 3-5 months, with dedicated OpenIDEO staff managing community, idea development, and evaluation.

The business model is enterprise B2B sponsorship sales: foundations, corporations, and government agencies pay to sponsor challenges designed around their objectives, with revenue derived from professional services (program design and staffing), subscription-style Alliance memberships, and event/convening fees. Pricing is fully custom and quote-based with no public tiers. Anchor foundation sponsors include GHR Foundation ($3M BridgeBuilder commitment), UK DFID ($5M+ Amplify program disbursed to grantees), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation; corporate and government sponsors include Nike, Starbucks, Unilever, McDonald's, Ford, NBC Universal, and agencies such as UNFPA, US Aid, and Australian DFAT.

OpenIDEO's platform has engaged hundreds of thousands of participants across 200+ countries and generated nearly 19,000 ideas through programs such as the BridgeBuilder Challenge, Circular Design Challenge, Food Waste Alliance, Early Childhood Innovation Prize, and the Empowering Caregivers in Immunization Challenge. Its principal differentiators are the IDEO brand and design methodology, the scale of its global community network, and its role as the operational layer between sponsors and a pre-existing base of social innovators. As of the most recent website state, OpenIDEO displays "No active OpenIDEO challenges at the moment" and directs prospective participants to IDEO.com, suggesting a pause or restructuring of its challenge pipeline relative to its 2017-2019 peak activity.

Name

OpenIDEO

Legal name

OpenIDEO

Website

https://openideo.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

OpenIDEO is IDEO's open innovation practice, operating a custom web platform that runs sponsor-funded, multi-month challenges and curated communities for social impact, serving foundations, corporations, and government agencies worldwide with human-centered design methodology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Innovation Consulting

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

MOOC & Open Course Platforms (EDAFAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Open-Source & Developer Communities (BPAMABAM), International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH)

Keywords

• Open innovation challenges
• Social impact programs
• Design thinking services
• Innovation consulting
• Online collaboration platform

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Challenge Sponsorship: Organizations pay to sponsor custom open innovation challenges. Sponsors receive a fully staffed team to manage the process and community, access to the global innovation network, and the ability to surface innovative projects and people worldwide. Challenges are custom-developed around sponsor goals.
2. Alliance Programs: Curated communities hosted on OpenIDEO's custom online platform, supporting organizations and entrepreneurs to share resources, prototype new ideas, secure funding, and form strategic partnerships. Annual membership or program fees may apply.
3. Convening and Events: Impact-driven events organized internationally, often tied to Challenges. OpenIDEO Chapters Network convenes innovators in cities worldwide who can be activated around sponsor initiatives.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

OpenIDEO operates a custom web-based open innovation platform (challenges.openideo.com) through which it designs and runs sponsored open innovation challenges, curated alliance communities, and volunteer-driven chapter programs for social impact. Foundations, corporations, and government agencies pay OpenIDEO to build tailored challenge programs around their goals, with fully staffed teams managing the process, community, and follow-on funding, mentorship, and accelerator support.

Product overview

OpenIDEO is IDEO's open innovation practice that operates as a collaborative platform for social impact. The core offering consists of OpenIDEO Challenges (guided idea accelerators), OpenIDEO Alliances (curated communities for ongoing collaboration), OpenIDEO Chapters (volunteer-driven local networks), and OpenIDEO Events. These are complemented by the Design Quotient (DQ) measurement system for tracking participation, mentor matching algorithms, and access to IDEO's Shape platform for community hosting. The platform is built on a human-centered design methodology and open innovation model that enables hundreds of thousands of participants in over 200 countries to generate nearly 19,000 ideas for good.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Amplify: Open innovation challenges program in partnership with DFID and IDEO.org focusing on international development topics
• BridgeBuilder Challenge
• Food Waste Alliance
• Education in Emergencies (EiE) Alliance
• Immunization Innovation Lab

Products and services

• OpenIDEO Challenges Guided idea accelerators that give people worldwide the design tools, connections, and support to build solutions for tough societal problems. Challenges are developed in partnership with sponsor organizations and include fully staffed teams to manage the process and community, guiding participants through phases of the design thinking process.
• OpenIDEO Alliances Curated communities that help people connected by a shared purpose find support, build partnerships, and use design to advance solutions. Alliances are hosted on OpenIDEO's custom online platform and may connect in person at special events, with examples including the Food Waste Alliance launched with the Rockefeller Foundation.
• OpenIDEO Chapters Established network of volunteer-driven communities that organize events in cities worldwide, connecting creative problem solvers and designing local solutions for global efforts. Chapters have received flash grants to create tailored events and can be activated around sponsor initiatives.
• OpenIDEO Events Online and in-person opportunities to connect and collaborate with innovators in cities and around the globe. Often tied to Challenges, events enable human connections that spark ideas and action and are part of sponsor-driven impact programming.

Quantifiable outcome

• Hundred of thousands of participants engaged across 200+ countries
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers22 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• GHR FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFlagship partnership creating the BridgeBuilder Challenge, a US$1 million initiative supporting innovative projects at intersections of peace, prosperity, and planet. Multiple challenge years (2017, 2019) focused on building bridges between people, organizations, issues, and beliefs. GHR Foundation provides funding and thought partnership, while OpenIDEO provides the open innovation platform and methodology.
• Rockefeller FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on food waste challenges and the Food Waste Alliance. Rockefeller Foundation supported the Food Waste Challenge and subsequent Alliance that grew to 160+ members helping food waste entrepreneurs scale impact. Collaboration on design thinking approaches to systemic food waste challenges.
• Ellen MacArthur FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaunched the $1 million Circular Design Challenge to redesign the plastics economy. Partnership included 90+ innovation events worldwide and sparked regional solutions for global plastics problem. Part of the New Plastics Economy Innovation Prize initiative.
• Bill and Melinda Gates FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsored the Empowering Caregivers in Immunization Challenge (2019) and subsequent IDEO Immunization Innovation Lab accelerator. $50K in prize funds awarded to Top Ideas. Challenge engaged nearly 20,000 change-makers from over 120 countries.
• UK Department for International Development (DFID)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint initiative with IDEO.org on Amplify program - a series of open innovation Challenges strengthening international development through collaboration and human-centered design. Over $5 million disbursed to innovators across multiple challenge topics.
• UNFPAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on Young People's Sexual and Reproductive Health Challenge focusing on menstrual health around the world. UNFPA Innovation Fund provided support for Top Ideas addressing sexual and reproductive health education and services for young people.
• Australian Government (DFAT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-designed the Education in Emergencies (EiE) Alliance with OpenIDEO following the Education in Emergencies Challenge. Supported 40 promising innovators from the challenge shortlist through a six-month network providing mentorship, resources, and collaboration tools.
• Gary Community InvestmentscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with OpenIDEO to launch The Early Childhood Innovation Prize, a $1 million innovation challenge for solutions supporting children ages 0-3. Prize engaged nearly 600 entries and more than 500 innovators, with winners receiving mentorship and acceleration support.
• McDonald'sflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Starbucks and OpenIDEO on the Beyond the Bag Challenge to develop reusable cup alternatives. Part of efforts to address plastic waste in the food service industry.
• StarbucksflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with McDonald's and OpenIDEO on the Beyond the Bag Challenge to develop reusable cup alternatives. Joint effort to eliminate plastic waste from coffee cups.
• IDEO.orgcoreTechnology or IntegrationIDEO.org is IDEO's nonprofit sister organization focused on designing products and services for people in poor and vulnerable communities. OpenIDEO often works closely with colleagues across the IDEO family, drawing from the same design DNA and sharing methodologies.

Scale indicators17 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Topcoder: Topcoder runs competitive challenges and crowdsourcing programs, but focused on technology and design tasks rather than social impact. Comparable in challenge mechanics but with a narrower domain overlap.
• Kaggle: Kaggle operates prize-based challenges for data science and machine learning problems. Comparable to OpenIDEO in challenge-and-community structure, but specialized in data-science competitions rather than broad social innovation.
• Ashoka Changemakers: Ashoka's Changemakers ran open competitions for social innovators and is thematically adjacent to OpenIDEO's social-innovation community platform. Comparable in mission (supporting social entrepreneurs) and open-competition format, though as a programmatic nonprofit rather than a paid challenge vendor.

Others

• XPRIZE: XPRIZE designs and operates large-scale incentive prize competitions for breakthrough innovation. Closely related to OpenIDEO in mission (moonshot-style challenges for social impact) and sponsorship model, but operates as a nonprofit foundation rather than a platform vendor.
• Challenge.gov: Challenge.gov is the U.S. federal government's prize and challenge platform, hosting crowdsourced competitions across agencies. Conceptually comparable to OpenIDEO's challenge model for government sponsors like DFID and DFAT, but it is a public-sector platform, not a commercial vendor.

Direct peers

• HeroX: HeroX is a crowdsourced open-innovation platform that hosts prize-based challenges for corporations, governments, and nonprofits. It is the most direct functional peer to OpenIDEO's challenge model, though HeroX is broader in scope (commercial and government prizes) while OpenIDEO focuses on social impact.
• IdeaScale: IdeaScale provides innovation management software with challenge and idea-campaign capabilities for enterprises and public-sector organizations. It overlaps with OpenIDEO on the challenge-and-community tooling layer, though IdeaScale sells SaaS while OpenIDEO sells bespoke programs.
• Wazoku: Wazoku is an idea management and open innovation platform that acquired InnoCentive. Its challenge and crowdsourced problem-solving capabilities directly parallel OpenIDEO's challenge infrastructure, with broader enterprise SaaS positioning.
• Brightidea: Brightidea is an innovation management platform offering idea campaigns, challenges, and crowdsourcing for enterprise customers. Comparable to OpenIDEO in challenge mechanics, but targeting corporate intrapreneurship and innovation teams rather than mission-driven sponsors.
• InnoCentive: InnoCentive (now part of Wazoku) pioneered open-innovation challenges for corporate and foundation R&D. It directly compares to OpenIDEO's challenge-as-a-service model, particularly for solving complex social and scientific problems with a global solver community.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/OpenIDEO
• Facebookfacebook.com/openideo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/openideo
• Instagraminstagram.com/openideo

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 OpenIDEO