Invest in Open Infrastructure

What Invest in Open Infrastructure does

Invest in Open Infrastructure (IOI) is a US-based 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 2018 and fiscally sponsored by Code for Science & Society. The organization works to make open research and scholarly infrastructure sustainable by advising funders, research institutions, libraries, infrastructure providers, and publishers on investment strategy, governance, and adoption decisions. Its core deliverables span three lines: (1) free public research and discovery tools, headlined by Infra Finder (a verified, searchable catalog of 90+ open infrastructure services launched April 2024), the State of Open Infrastructure annual report series, the Grant Funding Data Dashboard (641 awards, ~$550M, 2001-2024), and the Characteristics of Open Infrastructure Dashboard; (2) paid strategic consulting engagements with infrastructure providers such as arXiv, 2i2c, and Digital Scholar on governance, business strategy, and sustainability; and (3) coordinated funding programs, including the IOI Fund for Network Adoption that has channeled support to over 1,300 research institutions in 36 countries across Africa and Latin America.

Name

Invest in Open Infrastructure

Legal name

Invest in Open Infrastructure

Website

https://investinopen.org/

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Invest in Open Infrastructure is a US non-profit that advises funders, institutions, and providers on sustaining open research infrastructure, operating the Infra Finder discovery tool, annual State of Open Infrastructure research, and coordinated funding programs for global open science.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Open Infrastructure Research and Advisory Services

NAICS

Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Strategy & IT Advisory (BPAEAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Data, Analytics & AI Consulting (BPAHAEAF), Institutes of Technology (IoT / Technical Universities) (EDAHAEAC)

Keywords

• Open infrastructure research
• Scholarly communications consulting
• Research funding coordination
• Open science advisory services
• Nonprofit infrastructure strategy

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Paid Consulting Work: IOI provides strategic consulting services to infrastructure providers, institutions, and funders, generating revenue through professional service engagements.
2. Research Grants: IOI receives grant funding from organizations like the National Science Foundation ($299,454) and Mellon Foundation ($135,125) to conduct research on open infrastructure costs, funding patterns, and sustainability.
3. Philanthropic Support: Sustaining Circle members provide ongoing financial contributions to support IOI's work in advancing open infrastructure sustainability, targeted research, decision-making tools, and funding innovation.
4. Institutional Support: Support from institutions and consortia-based organizations through various funding arrangements and partnerships.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

IOI provides strategic consulting, coordinated funding programs, and research products to help funders, research institutions, libraries, publishers, and infrastructure providers make informed decisions about open infrastructure investments. Its core service offerings span targeted analysis, governance, field building, business strategy, and partnership/funding strategy. Its core technology product is Infra Finder, a free, verified, searchable database of open infrastructure services enabling open research and scholarship.

Product overview

IOI offers a portfolio of research tools, advisory services, and funding programs focused on advancing open infrastructure for research and scholarship. The core product is Infra Finder, a free discovery and evaluation tool that catalogs open infrastructure services. Supporting products include the annual State of Open Infrastructure Report, Grant Funding Data Dashboard, and Characteristics of Open Infrastructure Dashboard. IOI also provides Strategic Consulting Services and Coordinated Funding Programs. The IOI Fund for Network Adoption is a grant initiative supporting infrastructure adoption in underserved regions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Infra Finder: A free discovery and evaluation tool for users to find open infrastructure services that may suit their needs. Features 90+ infrastructure services and standards enabling open research and scholarship.
• Sustaining Circle
• IOI Fund for Network Adoption
• State of Open Infrastructure
• Reasonable Costs Project

Products and services

• Infra Finder A free, web-based discovery and evaluation tool that catalogs 134+ verified open infrastructure services enabling open research and scholarship, with side-by-side comparison for up to four services. Targeted at institutional decision-makers, funders, libraries, and infrastructure adopters globally.
• Strategic Consulting Services Paid advisory engagements spanning targeted analysis, governance, field building, business strategy and systems, and partnership and funding strategy. Provided to infrastructure providers, institutions, and funders through direct engagement with tailored strategic support.
• Coordinated Funding Programs Programs designed to identify high-impact opportunities spanning networks of institutions and researchers, and to strengthen infrastructure sustainability through hands-on co-creation and pooled investment from multiple funding sources.
• State of Open Infrastructure Report Annual report providing trustworthy and actionable research on open infrastructure trends, gaps, and opportunities in funding, governance, and policy landscapes. Targeted at funders, researchers, institutions, libraries, and infrastructure providers.
• Grant Funding Data Dashboard Interactive dashboard providing a snapshot of grant funding for open infrastructure, including temporal trends and geographic distribution of funding. Targeted at funders and ecosystem analysts.
• Characteristics of Open Infrastructure Dashboard Dashboard providing a snapshot of general characteristics of selected open infrastructures, supporting ecosystem intelligence and comparative analysis.
• IOI Fund for Network Adoption Pilot grant funding initiative supporting expanded access to open research infrastructures, with inaugural grantees focused on Research & Education Networks in Africa and Latin America.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,300 research institutions in 36 countries benefited from expanded access to open research infrastructures through IOI Fund for Network Adoption
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• Digital ScholarmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026Case study collaboration on building sustainable open infrastructure, showcasing how IOI's expertise applies to organizational challenges.
• 2i2cmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026IOI partnered with 2i2c on strategic consulting to strengthen their business development capacity and accelerate progress toward product-market fit.
• Code for Science & SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIOI is fiscally sponsored by Code for Science & Society (CS&S), a US-based 501c3 dedicated to supporting open collaboration in public interest technology. CS&S provides administrative, legal, and financial infrastructure for IOI's operations.
• Curtin Open Knowledge InitiativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIOI partners with Curtin Open Knowledge Initiative on the grant funding data dashboard, combining datasets and expertise to track open infrastructure funding landscape.
• Steering Committee MemberscoreOthersIOI is governed by a Steering Committee including: Amy Buckland (Concordia University), Joe Deville (Open Book Collective; Mattering Press; Lancaster University - Co-Chair), Robert Karanja (Independent), Tracy Hinds (Fastly), Louise Marston (Resolution Foundation - Treasurer), Eunice Mercado-Lara (Open Research Community Accelerator - Co-Chair), Danil Mikhailov (data.org), Omo Oaiya (WACREN), Lorrayne Porciuncula (Datasphere), Amy Sample Ward (NTEN), Jeff Ubois.
• HypothesisminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJROST 2020 planning committee member and conference supporter.
• arXivmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIOI provided strategic consulting to enhance arXiv's governance and sustainability, helping chart the platform's course for decades to come.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Open Research Funders Group: Open Research Funders Group is a coalition of philanthropic funders that coordinates funding for open scholarly infrastructure. Directly comparable to IOI because both organizations convene funders and steward coordinated investment in open research infrastructure, with overlapping membership (e.g., Sloan, Mellon, Arcadia, OSF, Wellcome).
• SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition): SPARC advocates for open access and open scholarly infrastructure and convenes libraries, funders, and policymakers. Directly comparable because both organizations focus on the sustainability of open scholarly communication infrastructure, run advocacy and convening programs, and serve overlapping library and institutional stakeholders.
• COAR (Confederation of Open Access Repositories): COAR is a global association that advances open access repository infrastructure. Directly comparable because both organizations work on the sustainability and adoption of open scholarly infrastructure and engage research institutions, libraries, and regional networks across multiple geographies.

Broad incumbents

• Open Knowledge Foundation: Open Knowledge Foundation is an established non-profit that advocates for open data and open infrastructure. Comparable as a broader incumbent operating across multiple open infrastructure domains, with overlapping funder community and complementary tools and policy work.
• Creative Commons: Creative Commons is the leading non-profit stewarding open licensing infrastructure. Comparable as a broader, more established player in open infrastructure whose CC BY 4.0 licensing IOI itself adopts, and which operates in adjacent advocacy, policy, and tooling spaces with overlapping philanthropic funders.

Emerging players

• Digital Public Goods Alliance: Digital Public Goods Alliance curates and supports digital public goods including open infrastructure. Comparable because both organizations evaluate, catalog, and advocate for sustainable open digital infrastructure and engage similar institutional and funder stakeholders.

Others

• LYRASIS: LYRASIS is a US-based non-profit consortium that supports libraries, archives, and cultural heritage organizations. Comparable as an ecosystem partner and grant contributor (it provided $500,000 to IOI's Fund for Network Adoption) that addresses sustainability of shared scholarly infrastructure.
• Crossref: Crossref is the DOI registration agency for scholarly publishing and a Sustaining Circle member of IOI. Comparable as a major open scholarly infrastructure provider that IOI both serves through consulting (Crossref recently joined IOI's Sustaining Circle) and operates adjacent to.
• Code for Science & Society: Code for Science & Society is IOI's fiscal sponsor and a 501(c)(3) supporting public interest technology projects. Comparable as a sibling non-profit operating in the open infrastructure ecosystem and providing governance, fiscal, and operational infrastructure for IOI.
• Internet Archive: Internet Archive is a long-standing non-profit digital library and open infrastructure provider. Comparable as an established open infrastructure organization whose sustainability, governance, and funding challenges mirror those IOI helps its clients address.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/investinopen
• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PLaSiTjUGK3ldSzrT_CJ072IFVpxMfQzHX
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/invest-in-open

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Invest in Open Infrastructure