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1.1 The 100 Open Startups Ranking is an annual publication used by major institutions and leading investors as a reference to track the most attractive startups and scaleups for the corporate market. It also highlights corporations, ecosystem players, investors, and executives with significant interactions with startups.
1.2 The publication is conducted by 100 Open Startups, based on the updated data recorded in its platform and related to the period defined in this regulation.
1.3. Startups, scaleups, corporations (medium and large enterprises), ecosystem players, and investors registered in the 100 Open Startups system may be featured in the 100 Open Startups Ranking, provided they meet the eligibility criteria outlined in this Regulation.
1.4 Being listed as a startup, scaleup, corporation, ecosystem player, investor, or executive in the 100 Open Startups Ranking is a recognition and a differentiator in the innovation ecosystem, providing increased visibility and potential business opportunities. The Ranking does not necessarily imply the right to any prizes from 100 Open Startups.
1.5 Startups, scaleups, and corporations that register or confirm their contracts on the platform to participate in the 100 Open Startups Ranking 2025 agree, from now on, with these Regulations, as well as ecosystem players and investors who register or confirm their relationships.
2.1 Startups, scaleups, corporations, ecosystem players, and investors may participate in the Ranking according to the criteria outlined below.
2.1.1 Startups meeting the following criteria:
i. Be a startup registered with 100 Open Startups in compliance with the program's regulations.
ii. Have closed contracts with corporations, active at any time from July/2024 to June/2025.
iii. 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.
iv. Complete the data form for candidate startups.
v. Register and/or validate relationship data with corporations.
vi. For the TOP 100 Open Startups, TOP Categories, and Special Categories awards, the startup must not have annual revenue exceeding USD 2.5 million in 2024, nor have received investment exceeding USD 2.5 million until December 31, 2024.
2.1.2 Scaleups meeting the following criteria:
i. Be a scaleup registered with 100 Open Startups in compliance with the program's regulations.
iii. Complete the data form for candidate startups and scaleups.
iv. Register and/or validate relationship data with corporations.
v. To qualify for the TOP Open Scaleups award, the scaleup must: a) Have revenue exceeding USD 2.5 million in 2024; or have received investment exceeding USD 2.5 million until December 31, 2024; or be controlled by a corporation (a company with more than 100 employees or USD 20 million in annual revenue); or have 100 or more corporate clients; and b) Have revenue less than USD 20 million in 2024. If revenue exceeds this amount, the company must compete as a Corporation, scoring points for business relationships with startups and scaleups.
2.1.3 Corporations meeting the following criteria:
i. Have more than 100 employees or have revenue exceeding USD 20 million in the fiscal year 2024.
ii. Have closed contracts with startups, active at any time from July/2024 to June/2025.
iii. Register and/or validate relationship data with startups or scaleups.
2.1.4 Venture Capital Managers meeting the following criteria:
i. Invested, at any date, until June 2025, in startups or scaleups eligible for the Ranking.
ii. Registered and/or validated investment data in startups or scaleups.
2.1.5 Investors meeting the following criteria:
ii. Registered and/or validated investment data in startups scaleups.
2.1.6 Ecosystem Players meeting the following criteria:
i. Supported, at any date, until June 2025, startups, scaleups, or corporations eligible for the Ranking.
ii. Register and/or validate relationship data with startups, scaleups, or corporations.
2.1.7 Corporate Executives meeting the following criteria:
i. Have closed contracts with startups, active at any time from July/2024 to June/2025.
ii. Register and/or validate relationship data with startups or scaleups.
iii. Agree to have their name highlighted in the TOP Executives category of the 100 Open Startups Ranking.
2.2 Startups and scaleups that have already been awarded in at least 3 (three) editions and whose scores and number of contracts drop by more than 10% from one edition to the next of the Ranking will not be awarded again in this edition in the same category (Open Startup or Open Scaleup). This criterion aims to provide visibility to early-stage startups that have not yet been highlighted in the 100 Open Startups Ranking, fulfilling one of its main purposes of showcasing these emerging new solutions to the innovation ecosystem. In the event of disqualification under this criterion in this edition, the startup may be eligible for an award in the following edition if it meets the eligibility criteria according to the regulations of the next edition.
2.3 For eligibility and/or contract scoring purposes, the suggested exchange rate for converting contract values and/or revenue from Brazilian Reais to US Dollars is BRL 6.00 to USD 1.00. If the currency exchange rate at the time of the contract/investment/revenue differs from the suggested rate, participants can choose the most favorable rate.
3.1.1 The scoring of the 100 Open Startups Ranking is calculated based on the relationships registered in the 100 Open Startups platform through the Ranking form.
3.1.2 To score points in the Ranking, 15 (fifteen) types of relationships are considered, divided into 4 (four) major groups, with scores equivalent to 1 (one), 5 (five), 10 (ten) or 20 (twenty) points, as detailed below:
i. Group A (Positioning) – 1 (one) point: 1. Training and mentoring; 2. Recognition and awards; 3. Coworking spaces, 4. Service and technology vouchers.
ii. Group B (Platform and Partnerships) – 5 (five) points: 5. Licensing of large company IP; 6. Access to non-financial resources; 7. Access to employee base; 8. Access to customer base and sales channels; 9. Acceleration program.
iii. Group C (Supplier Development) – 10 (ten) points: 10. Resources for R&D and prototyping; 11. Startup IP licensing; 12. Pilot project contracting; 13. Provision of innovative service or product.
iv. Group D (Investment) – 20 (twenty) points: 14. Investment with minority equity participation above USD 200,000; 15. Acquisition and incorporation of value above USD 200,000.
3.1.2.1 "Matchmaking and Connections" contracts will not score points for startups, scaleups, and corporations but will be counted as 1 point for the Executive Ranking.
3.1.2.2 Non-formalized contracts will not score points for the 2025 Ranking.
3.1.3 If desired, the startup, scaleup, or corporation may inform the contract value range to earn extra points. Contracts with pecuniary value for the startup above USD 200,000 (two hundred thousand US dollars) are worth 20 (twenty) points, regardless of the category.
3.1.4 For corporation scoring, only the best open innovation relationship with each startup or scaleup will be counted for the Ranking.
3.1.5 For startup and scaleup scoring, only the best open innovation relationship with each corporation will be counted for the Ranking.
3.1.6 The 100 Open Startups may, at any time, in case of doubt about the contract's classification, request more information and/or proof of the relationship through other means. Failure to provide information will result in the contract's disqualification.
3.2.1 The score of startups, scaleups, corporations, ecosystem agents and investors is calculated according to the information provided through the respective Ranking form on the 100 Open Startups platform.
3.2.2 Users (startups, scaleups, corporations, ecosystem players, and investors) are responsible for reporting when a relationship is established.
3.3.1 All data used in the 100 Open Startups Ranking comes from information registered by startups, scaleups, corporate executives, ecosystem players, or investors through the respective Ranking form on the 100 Open Startups platform.
3.3.2 When information eligible for scoring in the Ranking is added to the digital platform, the designated contact person will receive a link to their registered email to validate the information declared by the other party.
3.3.3 The validation process follows these rules:
i. Contract information provided by the startup or scaleup in its respective form must be validated by a contact person in the corporation.
ii. Contract information provided by the corporation in its respective form must be validated by a contact person in the startup or scaleup.
iii. Declared relationships by ecosystem players in their respective forms must be validated by the indicated startups, scaleups, or corporations.
iv. Declared investments by investors in their respective forms must be validated by the invested startups or scaleups.
v. All provided and validated information is audited by the 100 Open Startups team. The audit process verifies whether the information aligns with the definitions used in the Ranking methodology.
vi. Corporate employees are validated by the verified corporate email domain, according to the 100 Open Startups platform's corporate database. New corporations added to the database are reviewed and approved by the 100 Open Startups team.
vii. Corporations participating in the Ranking can request to compete as an economic group, and such grouping must be requested to the 100 Open Startups support team for evaluation. Grouping can also be done at the initiative of the 100 Open Startups audit team after analyzing the case.
viii. In the case of the same company using different email domains, it can also request the unification of domains on the platform, provided the request is made in writing by the company or analyzed by the 100 Open Startups audit team.
ix. Business units and subsidiaries using the same email domains as the parent company are considered, for Ranking purposes, as a single company. If subsidiaries are legally distinct entities using the parent company's email domain and wish to have separate registrations on the platform, the separation must be requested from the 100 Open Startups support team with the list of users who should be part of the subsidiary.
3.4.1 When registering their contracts, the startup can select up to 4 (four) categories that best identify it, among those offered in the form, in order of preference, to compete in the TOP Categories rankings.
3.4.2 The startup must select at least 1 (one) category. If it considers that it does not fit into any of the available categories, it must select New Trends and specify which term best categorizes the startup's category.
3.4.3 Each startup can only be awarded in a single TOP Category award, and the award will respect the order of preference: if the startup is not awarded as TOP 10 in its first selected option, it will automatically compete for the second option, and so on.
3.4.4 Only categories with the highest scoring density will be awarded. Thus, 100 Open Startups does not guarantee that the category(ies) chosen by the startup will be awarded as TOP Category.
3.4.5 If none of the categories chosen by the startup is awarded, or if it does not have enough points to be in the TOP 10 of any of the chosen categories, it continues to compete normally for the overall TOP 100.
3.4.6 To ensure the consistency and representativeness of the 100 Open Startups Ranking in various categories, after the data consolidation, the 100 Open Startups Ranking audit team reserves the right to change the startup's category(ies) without prior notice, as well as to create new categories and/or subdivide them.
3.5.1 In addition to the TOP 100 open startups and open scaleups and the TOP Categories of open startups, the 2025 edition of the Ranking will also feature the following awards:
i. TOP Open Corps: leading corporations in open innovation with startups;
ii. TOP Categories Open Corps: leading corporations in open innovation with startups by sectors of activity;
iii. TOP Open Corps Middle-Market: leading corporations in open innovation with startups and with annual revenue in 2024 of up to USD 200 million;
iv. TOP Ecosystem: ecosystem players recognized by startups, scaleups, and corporations awarded in the year for supporting them in their journey;
v. TOP Investors: venture capital organizations and angel investors recognized by startups for their investment;
vi. TOP Open Cities: cities with the highest density of startups engaging in open innovation with corporations;
vii. TOP Executives: executives who engage the most in open innovation with startups, according to the score of validated contracts for which they are responsible.
3.5.2 For the TOP Investors category, the score is equal to the number of awarded startups that have declared or confirmed investment from the investor. Example: if Investor A invested in 5 awarded startups and Investor B invested in 8, the TOP Investor Ranking placement is: 1st) Investor B, with 8 points; 2nd) Investor A, with 5 points.
3.5.3 For the TOP Ecosystem category, the score is equal to the number of awarded startups and corporations that have declared or confirmed support from the ecosystem player. Example: if Ecosystem Player A has confirmed relationships with 4 corporations and 2 awarded startups, and Ecosystem Player B has confirmed relationships with 7 awarded startups, the TOP Ecosystem Ranking placement is: 1st) Player B, with 7 points; 2nd) Player A, with 6 points.
3.5.4 The TOP Open Corps Ranking may be divided into different lists by size and type of corporation, depending on the score density of each group. For 2025, the TOP Open Corps Middle Market award is planned for corporations with annual revenue in 2024 of up to USD 200 million;
3.5.5 For the definition of categories in the TOP Categories Open Corps, the corporation's main sector of activity as registered on the platform will be considered. The main sector of activity is initially defined by the audit team and can be modified by the company's operational contact in the Ranking during the registration form filling. For new companies not registered in the database, the first user can indicate the sector they consider most suitable.
3.5.5.1 The award categories of the TOP Category Open Corps will be defined through sector grouping, according to the Ranking score density. Only categories with the highest scoring density will be awarded. Thus, 100 Open Startups does not guarantee that the sector chosen by the corporation will be awarded as TOP Category.
3.5.6.2 To ensure the consistency and representativeness of the 100 Open Startups Ranking in various sectors, after the data consolidation, the 100 Open Startups Ranking audit team reserves the right to change the sector and/or category of the company without prior notice, as well as to create new sectors and categories and/or subdivide them.
3.6.1 The 2025 edition of the Ranking will feature additional special recognitions for startups, applicable to the startups awarded in the TOP Categories and/or TOP 100 and that meet the criteria of these categories, described in item 3.6.4 of this regulation.
3.6.2 Startups wishing to compete for one or more of these categories must actively apply when registering their profiles and fill in the justification field for fitting into the category.
3.6.3 Eligibility is not guaranteed and is subject to analysis by the 100 Open Startups Ranking audit team, which, based on the justification provided by the startup, will assess its fit into the category criteria.
3.6.4 The special categories and their eligibility criteria are:
i. TOP Sustainability and Environment - Eligibility Criteria: The startup must have, in its core business, products or solutions that contribute to Brazil's environmental sustainability.
ii. TOP Social Impact - Eligibility Criteria: The startup must have, in its core business, products or solutions that generate positive social impact directly in Brazil.
iii. TOP Corporate Governance - Eligibility Criteria: The startup must have, in its core business, products or solutions related to corporate governance.
iv. TOP Accessibility and Inclusion - Eligibility Criteria: The startup must have, in its core business, products or solutions that are directly aimed at accessibility and/or inclusion of people with disabilities.
v. TOP Female Entrepreneurship - Eligibility Criteria: The startup must have at least one woman among its co-founders, who holds an executive position in the startup and has a minimum ownership stake of 10%.
vi. TOP LGBTQIAPN+ Entrepreneurship - Eligibility Criteria: The startup must have at least one LGBTQIAPN+ person among its co-founders, who holds an executive position in the startup and has a minimum ownership stake of 10%.
vii. TOP Black Entrepreneurship - Eligibility Criteria: The startup must have at least one entrepreneur who self-identifies as Black or Brown among its co-founders, who holds an executive position in the startup and has a minimum ownership stake of 10%.
viii. TOP Senior Entrepreneurship - Eligibility Criteria: The startup must have at least one entrepreneur who is at least 50 years old during the Ranking period among its co-founders, who holds an executive position in the startup and has a minimum ownership stake of 10%.
3.6.5 Special categories may or may not be published, as well as be grouped or change their names, at the sole and absolute discretion of 100 Open Startups.
3.7.1 Corporations and ecosystem players can indicate one (or more) operational point of contact - who will have access to all company contracts and to edit the basic information of the company's registration on the platform -, a senior point of contact, who will be the focal point to represent the company before 100 Open Startups, and a communication/marketing point of contact.
3.8.1 The 100 Open Startups Ranking is open to startups and corporations from outside Brazil. Specific awards and rankings for other countries and/or regions are defined according to the startup's/scaleup's country of origin or the country of contract execution for corporations.
3.9.1 Not all awards outlined in this regulation will be published in all participating countries and regions. 100 Open Startups may, at any time - according to the density of startups, corporations, investors, ecosystem players, and registered relationships - change, add, or remove any award categories outlined or not outlined in this regulation, in any of the participating countries and regions.
4.1 For the categories of startups, scaleups, and corporations, contracts that were active at any time during the period from 07/01/2024 to 06/30/2025 will be considered.
4.1.1 Active contracts that were declared and validated more than one year before the start of the validity period defined for the 2025 edition, as described in item 4.1 - that is, declared before 07/01/2023 - will be considered expired. These contracts must be declared and validated again to be considered for the 2025 Ranking.
4.1.2 The recommended deadline for contract registration is 06/15/2025, so they can be part of the entire contract validation campaign period for the Ranking.
4.1.3 Only contracts declared by 06/30/2025 will have the right to request reconsideration of the 2025 Ranking audit result.
4.1.4 The final deadline for contract validation to be considered in the 2025 Ranking is 11:59 PM UTC on 07/15/2025.
4.1.5 The result of the Ranking contract audit will be disclosed on the platform itself by 07/30/2025.
4.1.5.1 For contracts validated in advance, the results of the preliminary audit may be published, which may have their reconsideration requests advanced. The audit result may have changes compared to the preliminary audit, as some consistency checks are only performed after the final validation deadline.
4.1.6 After the audit results are published, participants who registered their contracts until 06/30/2025 will have until 08/05/2025 to request reconsideration of the audit judgment result.
4.1.7 After the contracts with reconsideration requests are reevaluated, the final audit will be published on 08/12/2025.
4.1.8 Any changes to deadlines for registration completion, validations, campaigns, audits, and reconsideration requests will be communicated through official Ranking announcements and posted on the official website - https://100os.net/ranking
4.2 For the categories of ecosystem agents and investors, relationships/investments occurring at any time until June/2025 will be considered.
4.2.1 The same deadlines as clauses 4.1.2 to 4.1.7 apply to ecosystem agent relationships and investor relationships.
5.1 Information regarding contracts submitted for participation in the 100 Open Startups Ranking is private and will only be shared with the declared point of contact for validation and with the 100 Open Startups auditing team.
5.2 The consolidated data may be used by 100 Open Startups or partner research institutions for research and surveys on open innovation practices and the innovation ecosystem in general, ensuring the confidentiality of individually registered relationship information.
5.3 Only the official ranking and consolidated data, by sector, category, geography, etc., will be disclosed in publications related to the 100 Open Startups Ranking, press releases, and partners, without identifying specific relationships between startups and companies, unless there is intention and agreement from both parties involved to disclose the relationship as a case of open innovation.
5.4 The Ranking is a mapping of market activity, based on declared and confirmed data between institutions. In the event that a company or institution does not wish to be cited in the Ranking awards, it must send a formal communication from a legal representative of the organization to the email legal@openstartups.net requesting removal. Removal will only be carried out from future editions of the Ranking that have not yet been published. Current and already published editions will not be updated.
5.4.1 In case of a formal request from the company or institution not to be cited in the 100 Open Startups Ranking awards, 100 Open Startups reserves the right to veto the participation of users with corporate email from the company or institution on the platform, as well as in events and products offered by 100 Open Startups.
5.5 Corporations may choose which brand and logo they wish to appear in the Ranking by completing the official form sent to the awarded corporations after the Ranking is closed.
5.5.1 Corporations that do not respond to the official form will be awarded with the name and logo registered in the 100 Open Startups system.
5.6 Participation in the 100 Open Startups Ranking is free and does not imply any registration fee of any kind.
5.7 Award-winning companies, startups, organizations, and cities will have the opportunity to participate in the Open Innovation Awards Gala Night (an event held to celebrate, gather, and give visibility to the winners of the year), as well as to acquire the physical trophy of the award.
5.7.1 Both participation in the Open Innovation Awards Gala Night and the acquisition of the physical trophy are optional extra benefits, incurring costs and not affecting the final result of the Ranking.
5.8 This regulation may be amended at any time, without prior notice, at the sole and absolute discretion of 100 Open Startups.
Last Updated: 01/29/2025