Open innovation doesn’t sound like 2015 anymore.
Eight years ago, the launch of the ‘Corporate Startup Stars Awards’ aimed to highlight an emerging phenomenon: corporate-startup collaboration. 
Since then, corporations have gained substantial experience in working with startups, and best practices have begun to solidify.
Open Innovation is no longer a black box.

However, the landscape continues to evolve. 
New tools are appearing, with Venture Builders emerging as a significant new player, despite some setbacks, while other models like Corporate Accelerators are on the decline. We’re also seeing a trend of hybridization in these models, adding complexity to the Open Innovation landscape. A prime example is Microsoft’s partnership with the most disruptive startup in the world (OpenAI), which is just the tip of the iceberg.

As Open Innovation matures, the pressure to deliver tangible results increases. 
CEOs are less swayed by the ‘cool’ aspect of startups and are demanding real impact. This shift to an ‘Age of Results’ brings its own challenges, as the benefits of collaborating with startups – like strategic market insights, cultural influence, 
and branding – are often intangible and hard to measure in the short to medium term.

The push for results is also driven by the current economic climate, leading to widespread budget cuts. This underscores the importance of properly tracking, quantifying, and communicating the value of Open Innovation initiatives, using metrics aligned with international benchmarks.

The ultimate objective of the ‘Corporate Startup Stars Awards’ – a global Open Innovation award run by Mind the Bridge and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) – is to showcase the actions of leading companies and identify trends and best practices, as evidenced by over 20 use cases included in our report.