About the 100 Open Startups Ranking

Published since 2016 in Brazil, the 100 Open Startups Ranking annually highlights the most attractive startups for the corporate market and the leading companies in Open Innovation and startup engagement.

The goal is to provide high visibility to the startups selected by the market and the companies that have the most engagement with startups, expanding recognition and business opportunities for the winners.

Considered one of the great ways to stand out nationally in the field of innovation, the 100 Open Startups Ranking is used as a reference by companies, leading investors, and media outlets.

Methodology

The methodology of the 100 Open Startups Ranking awards points to startups that attract the most interest from medium and large institutions each year and, on the other hand, to medium and large companies that establish the most business relationships with startups.

To calculate the score, the quantity and intensity of open innovation relationships are considered, categorized into 15 types, divided into four main groups, with an equivalent score of 1, 5, 10, or 20 points, as detailed in the table below:

Group Points Category
GROUP A
Positioning 		1 point
1. Training and mentoring
2. Recognitions and awards
3. Co-working spaces
4. Technology service vouchers
GROUP B
Platform and Partnerships 		5 points
5. Licensing of the company's intellectual property
6. Access to non-financial resources
7. Access to a collaborator base
8. Access to customer base and sales channels
9. Acceleration program
GROUP C
Supplier Development 		10 points
10. Resources for R&D and prototyping
11. Licensing of Startup's intellectual property
12. Hiring a pilot project
13. Supply of an innovative product or service
GROUP D
Investment 		20 points
14. Investment with minority share participation over US$200,000
15. Acquisition and incorporation for an amount over US$200,000

Contracts with a monetary value for the startup exceeding US$ 200,000 are worth 20 points, regardless of the category.

Contracts of the "Matchmaking and Connections" type are worth 1 point for the corporation's executive, but they do not accrue points for the startup, scaleup, and corporation rankings.

Unformalized contracts do not earn points

A startup can accumulate up to 20 points per corporation with which it has a relationship, and vice versa.

Only the best open innovation relationship between each startup and corporation will be considered for the Ranking.

For more details, refer to the 100 Open Startups Ranking Regulation

The ranking method is based on the information provided in the 100 Open Startups Ranking digital form.

Any startup, corporation, investor, or other participant in the innovation ecosystem can register and report on established open innovation relationships and the type of relationship.

The registered relationships must be validated by both parties and are subject to auditing by 100 Open Startups.

In addition to forming the score that makes up the 100 Open Startups Ranking, the registered data becomes studies on the open innovation practice and is made available to the ecosystem.

All data used in the Ranking relies on information submitted by startups themselves, corporate executives, ecosystem agents, and investors.

To ensure the authenticity of the submitted data, a system has been established for data validation:

  • When registering eligible information for scoring in the Ranking, it is necessary to designate a responsible party on the other end of the relationship, who will receive a link in their email to validate this information.
  • All registered information then undergoes the audit process by 100 Open Startups, which checks the coherence and consistency of the data before confirming the equivalent scores.

Important: Only contracts validated within the deadlines stipulated in each year's regulations are considered for the edition of the 100 Open Startups Ranking for that year. Therefore, participants are encouraged to declare their contracts as early as possible to avoid delays in validation by the contact point in the corporation or startup.

What are the criteria for participating in the Ranking?

Startups

  • Be a registered startup with 100 Open Startups, in compliance with the program's regulations.
  • Have closed contracts with corporations that were active at any time during the Ranking period.
  • Not be controlled by a corporation (a company with more than 100 employees or USD 20 million in annual revenue) but rather by entrepreneurs leading the business.
  • Fill out the data form for candidate startups.
  • Register and/or validate relationship data with corporations.
  • For the TOP 100 or TOP Categories Ranking, the startup should not have an annual revenue exceeding USD 2.5 million in the fiscal year preceding the Ranking publication and should not have received investments exceeding USD 2.5 million.

Corporations

  • Have more than 100 employees or have revenue exceeding USD 20 million (twenty million dollars) in the fiscal year preceding the Ranking publication.
  • Have closed contracts with startups that were active at any time during the Ranking period.
  • Register and/or validate relationship data with startups or scaleups.
  • To compete in the TOP Open Corps Middle Market, the corporation must have revenue of up to USD 200 million in the fiscal year preceding the Ranking publication.

Ecosystem Actor

  • Support, at any time until the end of the current Ranking validity period, eligible startups, scaleups, or corporations
  • Register and/or validate relationship data with startups, scaleups, or corporations.

What are the benefits of the Ranking?

  • The Ranking's data enables the production of comprehensive studies and the dissemination of unique insights on the evolution of open innovation practices in your country.
  • Being part of a large network of corporate executives and investors, with high visibility among Brazilian and Latin American corporations seeking startups for business partnerships and participating in matchmaking processes with these executives.
  • Access to the largest event dedicated to generating business in innovation, a unique opportunity to interact with key players in the ecosystem, Brazilian and international corporations, and startups.
  • International recognition of the Open Startups methodology for identifying leaders in open innovation, using objective criteria and data registered by the market itself to score participating companies.
  • Award-winning startups are recognized in the ecosystem for having market-validated solutions, opening doors to new opportunities. Corporations are highlighted as the most open to innovation, facilitating connections with the best startups.
  • Highlighted in the media, specialized publications, social networks, and the Gala Award Night, generating high visibility for the award-winning startups and recognition for corporations for their performance in open innovation.
  • The Ranking generates recognition for the practice of open innovation, contributing to its evolution and attracting more practitioners.