Open Sauce

What Open Sauce does

Open Sauce is an annual three-day technology and creator festival organized by Open Sauce Inc (operated by OS Productions), held at the San Mateo County Event Center in California. Founded in 2023, the 2026 edition is the company's fourth annual event. The festival combines a large-scale maker exhibition (the Mad Science Fair with 500+ exhibits), featured programming from prominent YouTube and TikTok creators (including Vsauce, Mark Rober, Hank Green, Michael Reeves, NileRed, and JerryRigEverything), and a professional Industry Day summit for creator-economy companies. The core product is the festival itself, supplemented by separately ticketed components such as Ultimate Bots Fight Night (combat robotics entertainment) and OS Next Up (a year-round emerging creator development program). Supporting technology includes an attendee-facing mobile app, an internal staff operations app (GOOSH), and a web-based exhibitor application platform.

The company monetizes through three primary streams: tiered ticket sales ranging from $120 (Sunday-only GA) to $1,553.42 (VIP), multi-tier corporate sponsorships (headline sponsors include GM, Wing, YouTube, and Anthropic; supporting sponsors include Raspberry Pi, Arduino, Formlabs, and Kickstarter), and exhibitor booth fees. Free booth space is provided to individual makers, nonprofits, and open-source projects, with small companies paying nominal fees. Distribution is primarily direct-to-consumer via Eventbrite through the company website, with travel partnerships (United Airlines, Best Western) for attendee logistics. The company serves individual makers and DIY engineers, online content creators, creator-economy businesses, and students/educators, while monetizing hardware and technology sponsors seeking access to a highly engaged technical audience.

Name

Open Sauce

Legal name

Open Sauce Inc

Website

https://opensauce.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Events / Technology & Creator Festival

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192), Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries (713)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

General Consumer Expos & Trade Shows (MPAGAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Local Community & Multi-Category Fairs (MPAGAFAO), Professional & Certification Expos Organizers (THAHABAD)

Keywords

• Maker festival
• Technology festival
• Creator event
• Maker expo
• Live event

Headquarters

HQ city

San Mateo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Primary revenue stream from tiered ticket sales including General Admission (2-day, $216.75), Sunday One-Day GA ($120), Industry Admission (3-day, $834.15), and VIP Admission ($1,553.42). Additional add-ons include Fight Night tickets ($25) and early entry passes ($136.63).
2. Sponsorship: Corporate sponsorships from technology companies, hardware manufacturers, and creator-economy platforms. Multiple tiers including headline sponsors (GM, Wing, YouTube, Anthropic) and supporting sponsors (Raspberry Pi, Arduino, Formlabs, Kickstarter, etc.).
3. Exhibitor Booth Fees: Free booths for individuals, nonprofits, and open source projects. Small companies (under 5 people) and startups may pay nominal fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Open Sauce produces an annual three-day Technology & Creator Festival held at the San Mateo County Event Center in the San Francisco Bay Area. The event combines a 500+ exhibit maker showcase (the Mad Science Fair) with featured YouTube creator programming, a professional Industry Day summit, and the Ultimate Bots Fight Night combat robotics entertainment. Revenue is generated through tiered ticket sales, corporate sponsorships from technology and creator-economy companies, and exhibitor fees.

Product overview

Open Sauce is an annual three-day Technology & Creator Festival held at the San Mateo County Event Center in California. The event serves as a unified festival experience combining a large-scale maker exhibition (the Mad Science Fair with 500+ exhibits), featured creator programming, and professional industry content. The product portfolio centers on the core festival as the main offering, supplemented by the separately ticketed Ultimate Bots Fight Night for combat robotics entertainment, and the Industry Day professional summit for creator technology discussions. Additional offerings include a Featured Creators showcase program featuring prominent YouTube makers, and an Exhibitor Program providing free booth space for individual makers and small projects. The OS Next Up program represents a separate creator development initiative. Ticket tiers range from general admission to VIP packages with varying levels of access to festival components and exclusive events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• OS Next Up: A creator program from Open Sauce supporting emerging creators
• Industry Day
• Ultimate Bots Fight Night

Products and services

• Open Sauce Technology & Creator Festival Annual three-day Technology & Creator Festival held at the San Mateo County Event Center featuring 500+ maker exhibits (Mad Science Fair), main stage programming on robotics, AI, 3D printing, rocketry, and featured creator showcases with prominent YouTube makers such as Vsauce, Hank Green, Mark Rober, and Michael Reeves.
• Industry Day Professional summit for creator technology held the day before the main festival, featuring industry panels on AI, creator tools, platforms, and the business of content. Included with the $834.15 Industry Admission 3-Day Pass along with a Thursday networking party and 1-hour early entry.
• Ultimate Bots Fight Night Separately ticketed evening event featuring full-scale fighting robots on the main stage with creator pilots competing in humanoid robot combat, presented by Ultimate Bots ($25 + Eventbrite fee; included with VIP Admission).
• OS Next Up Creator development program from Open Sauce supporting emerging creators in the maker and technology space with its own dedicated site at nextup.opensauce.com.

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

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

• Hack ClubminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Non-profit youth coding organization listed as partner, providing community support and educational outreach to young makers attending the festival.
• Ripley's Believe It or Not!minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Entertainment brand partnering with Open Sauce, aligning with the weird and wonderful nature of maker projects showcased at the festival.
• KickstartercoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Kickstarter presents the Industry Lounge at Open Sauce 2026, which is open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to Industry Day pass holders. Kickstarter is a key platform for maker and creative projects, aligning with Open Sauce's maker focus.
• United AirlinesminorOthers · 1 January 2026Official airline partner with promotional code ZSDU998726 for attendees to book flights to San Francisco Bay Area for the event.
• Best Western Inn & Suites San MateominorOthers · 1 January 2026Official hotel partner conveniently located near San Mateo County Event Center, offering group rates for Open Sauce attendees.
• YouTubemajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Major platform sponsor supporting creator-focused content at the festival. Multiple YouTube creators featured prominently throughout programming.
• Ultimate BotscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Humanoid sports league presenting Fight Night - full-scale fighting robots on Open Sauce main stage. Saturday July 18, doors 8:00 PM. Major entertainment draw for the event.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• TwitchCon: Amazon-owned creator platform conference. Comparable format (multi-day live event with creator meet-and-greets, industry programming, and platform sponsors) but focused on livestream creators rather than makers.
• CES (Consumer Electronics Show): The largest consumer-tech expo globally. Competes for many of the same hardware/AI sponsors (GM, Anthropic, Wing) and provides a template for large-scale trade show logistics and sponsor tiering.
• San Diego Comic-Con: Massive consumer pop-culture expo with a comparable operating model (three-day expo, tiered badges, headline sponsors, exhibitor booths, VIP experiences) — a benchmark for consumer expo economics even though the audience differs.

Emerging players

• SIGGRAPH: Major computer graphics and interactive techniques conference. Adjacent technology audience (3D printing, robotics, AI) with overlapping sponsors (Formlabs, NVIDIA) and potential cross-pollination with Open Sauce's industry programming.
• Strange World (Banana Boost / YouTube events): Independent YouTube creator-led events and live shows. Comparable in vibe to Open Sauce's featured-creator programming and Ultimate Bots Fight Night — competing for creator appearance slots and engaged fan attendance.

Direct peers

• World Maker Faire (New York edition): Large-scale maker fair with the same 500+ exhibit format, hands-on maker focus, and DIY engineering audience. The most direct operational peer in terms of exhibit model and maker recruitment.
• Make Community (Maker Faire): Operator of Maker Faire — the original large-scale maker festival. Direct competitor for makers, exhibitors, and sponsors in the maker-event space, with a comparable focus on hands-on projects, DIY culture, and tinkerer audiences.
• VidCon: Premier YouTube/creator economy convention. Competes for the same featured creators (Mark Rober, Vsauce-style figures), industry sponsors, and creator-economy attendees as Open Sauce's Industry Day.
• Slingshot Festival: Creator-and-tech festival operating in the same boutique-expo tier as Open Sauce. Direct competitor for emerging creator bookings and sponsors in the maker/tech creator space (Slingshot is also an Open Sauce sponsor).

Others

• Upload VR (Upload Summit): Annual XR/VR/immersive-tech conference. Comparable in scale and indie-tech audience to Open Sauce Industry Day, with overlapping sponsors in emerging-tech categories (AI, hardware).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/opensauceinc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Open Sauce